The catastrophic mudslide that struck regions near Nepal-China border on Wednesday originated in Nepal, a Nepali expert has confirmed.
The disaster hit north Nepal and Gyirong Port in Gyirong County of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Wednesday. China's Ministry of Natural Resources also confirmed that the mudslide was triggered by a glacier collapse at higher elevation on the Nepali side of the border.
Pointing at a map, Professor Binod Dawadi from Tribhuvan University explained the disaster's origins.
"Let us look at this map. This is the Lende river along the Nepal-China border. The red line marks the river along the border. This side is Nepal, and to the north is China. Here is Gyirong Port. This point marked on the Nepali side is above Lirung Glacier. This is where the disaster began," he said.
Under normal conditions, meltwater from the point where the glacier collapsed would have drained through surrounding gullies into the river. But the sheer scale and suddenness of the disaster produced a massive surge of meltwater and broken ice in a very short time, scouring mud and sediment from the mountainside and sending a destructive flow downstream. The impact was felt on the Chinese side around Gyirong Port and along the Donglin Tsangpo River, known in Nepal as the Lende River, as the torrent swept southward and affected communities along its banks.
Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority confirmed on 19:00 Friday that the mudslide has killed 579 people, with 1,924 still missing.
Nepali expert confirms mudslide starting point on Nepali side
The Third Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM3) of the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) concluded on Friday in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, achieving broad consensus and making positive progress across various cooperation areas in preparation for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting scheduled for November.
The Senior Officials' Meeting serves as the primary channel and platform for advancing APEC cooperation and shaping outcomes for the Leaders' Meeting.
Chen Xu, chair of the 2026 APEC Senior Officials' Meeting, said that during the SOM3, participants held in-depth discussions around the three priority areas of openness, innovation, and cooperation. They focused on in-depth communication and coordination regarding the outcomes of the Leaders' Meeting, and achieved positive progress in cooperation across all areas.
"During the meeting, all parties spoke highly of China's proposals and the preparatory work that has been done. They expressed their willingness to work with China to advance cooperation in all fields and deliver more outcomes, so as to make the Leaders' Meeting a success and contribute more to the development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region," Chen said.
Chen noted that following the SOM3, the preparations for the Leaders' Meeting will enter a new important phase. China will continue to maintain close communication with all parties and advance the preparatory work in an orderly manner to ensure the success of the meeting.
Ahead of the Leaders' Meeting in November, a series of ministerial meetings on small and medium enterprises, energy, human resources, transport, and finance, as well as the APEC Young Entrepreneurs' Summit, will also be held.
As the host of APEC 2026, China will hold the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong Province from Nov 18 to 19.
Since the launch of the APEC "China Year", China has hosted three senior officials' meetings and a series of activities under APEC Digital Week. It has also convened ministerial meetings on women and the economy, trade, tourism, forestry and food security.
More than 300 meetings and activities have been held in over 10 Chinese cities, attracting a cumulative total of around 7,000 participants.
3rd APEC Senior Officials' Meeting achieves broad consensus on cooperation
