Chinese tunnel experts dispatched to assist rescue operations in mudslide-hit Nepal have found that severe infrastructure damage and complex geographical conditions are creating formidable obstacles to on-site search and rescue work.
China's Ministry of Emergency Management on Saturday dispatched a team of nine tunnel experts to Nepal to support rescue efforts at a hydropower plant tunnel, at the request of the Nepali government.
The experts took a helicopter from Gyirong, a county in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, arrived in the disaster-hit area of Nepal at 4:58 p.m. Beijing Time, and immediately joined the rescue operation on site.
According to the experts' on-site assessment, the mudslide has impacted a vast swathe of land, inflicting heavy damage on both riverside residential buildings and local engineering facilities, and presenting a string of hurdles for frontline rescue operations.
Aerial footage captured during the helicopter flight shows extensive devastation to the natural landscape and local livelihood infrastructure. Numerous homes along the river have been buried under thick mud and silt, and overland transportation has completely been cut off.
Multiple runoffs from mountain slopes continue to feed into the main river channel, forming small waterfalls in some sections, while the valley's water remains muddy and fast-flowing.
The situation is particularly severe at the hydropower project area, where almost no temporary structures remain intact.
The project's core facilities, construction work zones and living quarters have all sustained heavy damage, and the extremely complex terrain at the site will greatly complicate both immediate emergency response and follow-up rescue missions.
The death toll from the massive mudslide had risen to 1,127 as of 5:00 local time Wednesday, according to the latest figures released by the Nepal Police.
Infrastructure damage poses major challenge for rescue in Nepal: experts
