The death toll from last week's devastating mudslide at the Gyirong Port on the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region has now risen to 21 as of Wednesday noon, while search efforts are continuing in earnest after road access to the core disaster area was restored earlier the same day, according to the regional government's latest news briefing.
Gama Cedain, chairman of the Xizang regional government and commander of the emergency rescue headquarters set up in response to the disaster, briefed the press on the latest updates of the rescue work, seven days on from when the massive mudslide occurred on the China-Nepal border.
Cedian told reporters that 21 victims are now confirmed to have died at the border port and that some 847 personal belongings have been recovered from the site so far, while efforts to find the 541 people who remain unaccounted for are still ongoing.
The rescue operation was given a boost when road access to the core area of the mudslide-hit port was restored at around 10:00 Wednesday. It came after days of round-the-clock repair work on the badly-damaged sections of the G216 national highway. Before the road was cleared, rescuers faced huge difficulties in order to reach the site, Cedain explained.
He said a number of rescue personnel had to embark on lengthy detours through the treacherous mountain roads on foot, taking up to 12 hours in some cases to reach the core area. Assault boats and rubber boats were also used to cut through the rivers, while 24 helicopter sorties were dispatched to deliver rescue personnel, essential supplies and other specialist equipment to the area, the official added.
"So far, there were a total of more than 2,300 rescue personnel dispatches, 400 rescue vehicle missions, over 8,000 sets of equipment and more than 800 drone flights have engaged in the rescue operations, with 5.43 tons of supplies and equipment sent in from the air. In addition, four lighting fixtures, one low-voltage power generation vehicle and one charging cabin have been set up in the core area, while 12 base stations have resumed communications, providing support for the search and rescue operation," he said.
Cedain also explained the sheer extent of the total search area that has been covered, saying that hundreds of rescue missions have been completed, carrying out thorough searches across a total area spanning nearly 1.6 million square meters so far.
He also noted that the basically restored highway -- which saw some three kilometers of the damaged road section being cleared over the past several days -- is now enabling key equipment into the port area, which will help to greatly step up operations. "Since the path was cleared, more than 10 pieces of heavy machinery and mechanical equipment have entered the core area to continuously conduct search and rescue operations," said the commander.
Xizang authorities confirm mudslide death toll rises to 21
