Xi Jinping Sends Condolences and Promises Urgent Assistance Following Devastating Mudslide at Gyirong Port
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to his Nepalese counterpart, Ram Chandra Paudel, following a devastating mudslide that struck the Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border. The disaster, which was triggered by a glacier collapse on the Nepalese side, left five people dead and 558 missing in Tibet's Gyirong county. Nepal reported a death toll of 579 and 1,924 missing as of Friday evening. Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of the Politburo, which promised to provide urgent emergency assistance and international rescue cooperation with Nepal. Despite hazardous conditions, including high-altitude frigid environments and volatile weather, rescue teams from the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the Xizang Fire and Rescue Corps have arrived on-site. Authorities have dispatched over 600 fire and rescue personnel and 113 vehicles to the remote mountainous area. Operations remain challenging due to damaged infrastructure and the threat of secondary disasters, such as a potentially unstable barrier lake formed by the glacier collapse.
Sources
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Chinese rescuers reach checkpoint destroyed by deadly floods along Nepal border
South China Morning Post
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Chinese rescue team finds 'nothing but ruins' at flood-hit Himalayan border crossing
Reuters
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Tibet Mudslide Engulfs Complex at China’s Gateway to Nepal
Bloomberg.com
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China Offers Condolences to Nepal While Emphasizing Disaster Began There
The New York Times
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Rescue operations underway as death toll from mudslide rises
Xinhua