Rescue Channel Opens at Tibet’s Gyirong Port After Deadly Mudslide
Rescue channels in the core area of Gyirong Port in Tibet’s Shigatse Prefecture were basically opened on the morning of September 2, allowing rescue personnel, supplies, and heavy equipment to reach the disaster zone by land for the first time since a catastrophic mudslide struck the area on August 26, according to Xinhua News. The breakthrough came after more than a week of grueling efforts to repair the G216 national highway, the only land route to the port, which was destroyed when a massive debris flow swept through the Himalayan valley.
The disaster has claimed at least 16 confirmed lives on the Chinese side with 546 people still missing, while Nepal has reported 1,127 confirmed deaths as of September 2, according to Nepal Police data cited in the research. The mudslide, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche on the Nepal side of the border, flattened approximately 0.7 square kilometers of the port area and destroyed 27 buildings and related facilities.
A Chain Reaction From the Himalayas
The catastrophe began on the morning of August 26 when a glacier on the northern slope of Langtang Lirung Peak in Nepal broke off at approximately 5,200 meters above sea level. The ice-rock avalanche plummeted to about 4,000 meters, scouring mountain slopes and transforming into a massive debris flow that traveled roughly 22 kilometers to Gyirong Port at an elevation of about 1,800 meters. According to experts, the avalanche reached the port in just 6-7 minutes.
“This disaster is caused by glacier destabilization under the long-term effects of climate warming,” said Su Pengcheng, a researcher at the Chengdu Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, during an August 30 press conference. “The disaster erupted suddenly, with large peak flow, fast speed, strong destructive power, and wide impact range. This is also a new and significant characteristic of cryosphere disasters on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and surrounding areas.”
Experts from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have identified the event as a chain reaction: high-altitude ice-rock avalanche to debris flow to mudslide. The disaster represents what scientists describe as a growing threat from glacier destabilization driven by climate warming across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a region that has experienced similar events in recent years, including the 2016 ice avalanches in Tibet’s Ali region and the 2021 Indian mountain ice-rock avalanche that killed more than 200 people.
The Fight to Reach the Core Zone
The mudslide severed all road, communication, and power links to Gyirong Port, leaving rescue teams with the daunting task of reaching survivors through treacherous mountain terrain. China activated Level I natural disaster emergency response and Level I disaster relief emergency response, mobilizing 2,141 rescue personnel from the PLA, Armed Police, China Fire and Rescue, border defense, police, and China Anneng, along with 269 rescue vehicles and 3,922 sets of rescue equipment, as reported by CCTV News.
The damaged section of G216 to Gyirong Port stretched approximately 3 kilometers through deep mountain gorges. “Each section of road has different conditions,” said Zhou Gang, commander of China Anneng Third Engineering Bureau. “Some repair sections can use the original roadbed, but most of the road surface has been severely washed away. The work area is in high mountain deep valleys, the construction surface is extremely narrow, and large machinery cannot operate simultaneously.”
Crews worked around the clock in 24-hour shifts, battling rushing waters and the constant threat of secondary landslides. The final 1.1 kilometers proved the most challenging, taking over 40 hours to complete. Workers employed techniques including wading machinery through water and placing stone gabions to stabilize foundations, often watching freshly placed boulders swept away by the current. The first excavators reached the core search area on the evening of September 1, as reported by Beijing Daily, before the channel was fully opened the following morning.
A Port of Global Significance
Gyirong Port holds strategic importance as one of the most well-equipped land ports between China and Nepal, situated approximately 130 kilometers from Kathmandu in the middle section of the Himalayas. As BBC Chinese notes, the port is a key gateway for pilgrims traveling to Mount Kailash, a sacred mountain shared by four religions: Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, Bon, and Jainism. Tens of thousands of pilgrims pass through annually, with August being the peak departure season.
The disaster has had far-reaching international implications. Chinese authorities have reported 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries missing, including 104 Nepalese, 49 Indians, 33 Latvians, 18 Americans, and 15 British citizens. Nearly 100 Chinese citizens are also reported missing on the Nepal side of the disaster area. The Nepal government has declared affected areas in its northern Rasuwa district as disaster crisis zones for three months.
Ongoing Risks and Recovery
While the opening of the rescue channel marks a critical milestone, significant challenges remain. Rescue teams are now conducting deep-level search operations in the devastated core area, where thick mud and gravel have buried what was once a functioning border facility. “The original buildings within the mudslide impact zone have basically been flattened, completely unable to see any outline of buildings,” said Liu Maolin, squad leader of the China Rescue Team Action Group Third Detachment, describing the scene.
Authorities are also monitoring a barrier lake that formed on the Puripuqiangzangbu River above Gyirong Port with a capacity of approximately 2.2 million cubic meters. According to officials, the dam has already overflowed and discharged floodwater, is currently generally stable, and the possibility of overall breach is relatively small. However, the Ministry of Natural Resources has identified eight high-risk geological disaster points in the region, and experts continue to warn of the potential for secondary disasters as the region experiences continued rainfall.
China has allocated 220 million yuan in emergency funding and provided emergency humanitarian aid to Nepal. As rescue operations enter a new phase with heavy machinery now able to access the core zone, the focus shifts to the painstaking work of searching for the missing and beginning the long process of recovery and reconstruction in a region that serves as a vital lifeline between two nations.