Hours after devastating flash floods occurred near the Nepal-Tibet border, an aerial footage showed how the Gyirong Port, located on the Nepal-China border near Tibet, was hit by the deluge.
The disaster has left 558 people missing in Tibet, officials said, taking the number of people reported missing on the two sides of the border to 1,468. Following the flash floods, the road between Gyirong Township and Gyirong Port has been closed in both directions, news agency PTI reported. The before footage showed the port standing upright while the after shot captured a mudslide-affected area near the border port. HT couldn’t independently verify the authenticity of the clip. Gyirong Port is considered a big trading hub between Tibet and Nepal and is also crucial for China. A video caught the moment the deluge hit the port as people desperately ran towards safety. The clip went viral. More than a thousand people are missing on both sides the massive floods near the Nepal-Tibet border.
On Wednesday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that “a mudslide disaster on the Nepalese side resulted in major casualties and missing people at the Gyirong Port” in Tibet.
With more bodies being recovered and rescue ops still underway, the death count after the Nepal flash floods is on the rise. A rush of water, mud and debris was sent downstream after a glacial collapse triggered an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border. Homes were taken down, and roads, bridges, and several hydropower projects were damaged.
Around 200 Indian nationals on the Tibet side have sought assistance for evacuation, according to news agency PTI . As per the Ministry of External Affairs’ latest update, contact has been established with 290 Indians in Nepal, with over 80 rescued so far. At the time of writing this report, 362 people have died, including 359 in Nepal and three in neighbouring Tibet.
