China: 5 killed, 558 missing after flash floods in Tibet
China on Friday said five people were killed and 558 others, including 260 foreigners, remain missing after flash floods struck a port along the China-Nepal border in Tibet.
The flash floods hit Gyirong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday, sweeping through villages and towns near the border area. It claimed as many as 538 lives in Nepal.
According to Tibet's emergency management department, the death toll in the region has risen to five, while 558 people are still missing.
Among the missing, 260 have been identified as foreign nationals but their nationalities have not been released yet.
A large number of Indian pilgrims are visiting Tibet to take part in the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra following improvement in ties between China and India.
Some of the Indian pilgrims were reportedly at the immigration building at the Tibet-Nepal border when it was hit hard by the flash flood.
Videos showing a massive flash flood engulfing the large immigration building went viral globally.
Earlier in the day, Chinese officials said more than 1,000 people, including 555 tourists and 499 locals, were evacuated from Gyirong County, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
No tourist remains stranded in the area now, according to the state-run Global Times.
When asked for details of the foreign tourists missing in Tibet, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing is coordinating with the relevant embassies about the details.
Rescue efforts continue in the region with civil aviation authorities also joining.
By Thursday, civil aviation services had transported 324 rescue personnel and delivered 24 tonnes of rescue equipment, daily necessities and medical supplies to the disaster-hit area, providing support for emergency response and the relocation of affected residents, the report said.
Roads leading to the port on the Chinese side were cut off by the flash floods, which also impacted communications and power supplies.
State-run CGTV reported that phased progress has been made in restoring emergency communication support and infrastructure.
One telecom base station has been successfully restored, two new base stations have been put into operation and 5G inter-network roaming functionality has been simultaneously activated, the report quoted the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as saying.
Late on Thursday, China sounded a Level-IV alert, warning that a newly formed barrier lake at the confluence of two rivers faces a high risk of breaching and flooding downstream areas.
Chinese authorities estimate that about 2 million cubic metres of water had accumulated in the barrier lake near the confluence of Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers, with another 3 million cubic metres potentially flowing into it over the next three days, raising concerns that the natural barrier could breach.
