All-out rescue efforts underway after mudslide in China-Nepal border port

Rescuers evacuate stranded people from the site of a mudslide at the Gyirong Port area in Gyirong Township of Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, July 8, 2025. (Photo by Xu Dafu/Xinhua)

LHASA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Rescue workers are racing against the clock to search for missing people after a mudslide hit the Gyirong Port area along the China-Nepal border on Tuesday morning, according to local authorities.

The mudslide occurred at about 5 a.m. at the port, which is located in Gyirong Township in the city of Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. Eleven people on the Chinese side of the border have been reported missing, according to local authorities.

Nine of those people work on the project construction site and two work in highway maintenance.

Authorities in Xizang mobilized emergency teams immediately after the incident, with search and rescue operations underway.

As of 2:40 p.m., more than 210 personnel and nearly 40 vehicles had been deployed for the search and rescue.

"We immediately dispatched our team from Xigaze with speedboats, underwater robots, rope rescue equipment and other critical equipment," said Jiang Hua, a member of the Xigaze detachment of the Xizang forest fire brigade.

Access to Gyirong Port remains challenging -- an approximately 100-meter section of the road to the port is submerged under 2 meters of floodwater, hampering relief efforts. Rescue workers are working to reopen the vital route.

The flood control and drought relief headquarters in Xizang immediately initiated emergency response measures for flood control and natural-disaster relief.

More than 350 people have been relocated so far.

Rescuers set up an emergency mobile telecom system at the site of a mudslide at the Gyirong Port area in Gyirong Township of Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, July 8, 2025. (Photo by Xu Dafu/Xinhua)

Rescuers build a path for evacuation at the site of a mudslide at the Gyirong Port area in Gyirong Township of Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, July 8, 2025. (Photo by Xu Dafu/Xinhua)

Rescuers get prepared for field operation after a mudslide hit the Gyirong Port area in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, July 8, 2025. (Xinhua)

Rescuers evacuate stranded people from the site of a mudslide at the Gyirong Port area in Gyirong Township of Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, July 8, 2025. (Photo by Xu Dafu/Xinhua)

Buses carrying rescuers head for Gyirong Port area in Gyirong Township of Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, July 8, 2025. (Xinhua)