Tibet’s Gyirong suffers ‘major casualties’ from mudslide, Xinhua reports

BEIJING, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Many people were feared dead or missing after a mudslide hit major border crossing between China and Nepal in Tibet’s Gyirong county on Wednesday, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

“At approximately 10:30 AM (0230 GMT) on August 26, due to a mudslide occurring on the Nepalese side, major casualties and missing persons were caused at the Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, Shigatse City, Tibet,” Xinhua reported.

President Xi Jinping urged “all-out” efforts to search for the missing, and called for strengthening monitoring and early warning systems to prevent secondary disasters.

Roads leading to the Gyirong Port land crossing on the Chinese side as well as communications and power supplies were cut off, and search and rescue work was underway, Xinhua said.

The crossing was hit by an earlier mudslide just over a year ago.

(Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Philippa Fletcher)

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