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Laura Zhou

Carol Yang

China has sent nine specialist tunnel rescuers to Nepal to help with emergency operations following a direct request from Kathmandu, as search teams race against time to find survivors from Wednesday’s devastating floods.
Seven people have been confirmed dead on the Chinese side, with 544 still missing as the rescue operation passed a critical 72-hour window.
In Nepal, at least 675 have died and nearly 2,500 – hundreds of them foreigners – are missing.
Five of the Chinese tunnel experts were flown in by helicopter from Gyirong county in Tibet, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday. They arrived in the afternoon to join rescue operations at a hydropower plant in the border region.
The five were “urgently dispatched at the request of the Nepalese government”, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management said on Saturday evening.


According to local authorities, more than 100 people remain trapped inside multiple hydropower tunnels and Nepali army teams are drilling in an “extremely challenging” rescue bid.
Four more Chinese tunnel experts were also urgently sent to support the rescue efforts, the ministry said.
Rescue operations are also in full swing on the Chinese side of the border. On Saturday morning, engineers and workers started clearing away mud and debris using excavators and heavy earth-moving machinery in an effort to reopen the route to the Gyirong Port border checkpoint.
The final stretch of the national highway leading to Gyirong Port has been severely damaged, with mud up to 2 metres (6.6 feet) deep burying sections of the route, while parts of the roadbed have been completely washed away.
Overnight rain since Friday further hindered repair work.
As of Saturday afternoon, rescuers had cleared the road to within roughly 1.5km (0.9 mile) of Gyirong Port’s hardest-hit zone, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Meanwhile, heavy-lift drones have been deployed to airdrop rescue equipment and crucial supplies to frontline teams, providing vital support to sustain search and rescue operations.
Tibet’s military command has deployed two helicopters into the flood zone to deliver emergency supplies – including food, medical kits and rescue gear.


Advanced laser-video artificial intelligence monitoring equipment had been deployed at the disaster sites, CCTV reported. The sensors can detect sub-millimetre shifts, providing timely alerts for rescuers to evacuate.
The alert is crucial for on the ground work as Wednesday’s debris flow created a barrier lake, which forms when a natural dam of landslide debris blocks a river.
The lake, which CCTV said spanned around 100,000 square metres (1.08 million sq ft), equivalent to 14 standard football pitches, is being monitored by radars and drones.
There were fears of a potential breach after the barrier lake first formed, but the immediate threat appears to have passed.
The latest update from China’s hydrology monitoring authorities on Saturday night said the blockage had largely been washed away, allowing the river to flow naturally and easing the threat of a sudden outburst.
Many of the Chinese frontline workers involved had taken part in another rescue operation in July last year, when the region was hit by a mudslide that washed away a bridge, CCTV reported.
At the all-but-destroyed Gyirong Port checkpoint, about 70 firefighters were carrying out a comprehensive sweep in a search and rescue effort, it said.


Meanwhile, Chen Hongqi, a senior engineer from the Ministry of Natural Resources, warned there was a risk of secondary disasters.
He told CCTV on Friday that an even larger water tower of about 120,000 square metres was forming near the collapsed glacier that triggered the disaster, and an ice sheet hanging from a nearby cliff had also fractured.
“Ice, unlike rock, is essentially rootless and lacks a structural anchorage, which makes hazard evaluation exceptionally difficult. We must rely on detailed surveys before making further rescue decisions,” he said.
The first rescuers arrived at the scene on Friday afternoon and so far two villagers have been found alive in rubble near the Gyirong border checkpoint, according to Tibet’s emergency bureau.
But at the border crossing itself, there was no sign of any survivors. Liu Maolin, the rescue team leader, said the checkpoint building had been completely destroyed by a mudslide.


The China Meteorological Administration warned that Gyirong county would see light rainfall and temperatures as low as 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit) over the next three days.
Each of the firefighters had been equipped with a 72-hour self-sufficiency kit containing food, water, thermal gear and medical supplies, Liu told CCTV.
The first two to three days after natural disasters are usually the critical window for finding survivors.
Liu said advance scout units were sending real-time GPS coordinates and road conditions to the main search teams and their support teams to help them map out the best possible routes to take.
On Saturday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu sent his condolences to the victims and announced that the city government had set aside HK$50 million (US$6.4 million) from the Disaster Relief Fund to support the search and rescue operations.
On the same day, the Macau government announced it would donate 30 million yuan (US$4.5 million).
On Friday, Nepal agreed to allow foreign emergency teams to help with its rescue efforts in the face of intense pressure from governments whose citizens remain missing.




The Nepalese government had previously said it was capable of handling the rescue operation and Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told Reuters on Saturday that the country needed help in specialised ⁠and technical areas rather than search and rescue operations.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board’s latest records, 517 foreigners from 31 countries remain missing, including 178 from India, 65 from the United States, 53 from Ukraine, 35 from Australia and 33 from Britain.


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Search and rescue operations are carried out near the destroyed Gyirong Port, Tibet, on August 29. Photo: AFP

Rescuers at work in Gyirong county on August 29. Photo: Xinhua via AP 

‘Massive casualties’ after flash floods, landslide strike China-Nepal border

The landslide struck Tibet's Gyirong county at around 9am on Wednesday, causing major casualties and leaving a number of people missing, according to state media. Photo: Handout

Footage circulating online shows people on the ground fleeing, moments before the disaster strikes. Photo: Handout

The disaster has cut off roads leading to the port, as well as communications and power supplies, according to the Gyirong county emergency management bureau. Photo: Xinhua

A team from an emergency response company firm deployed to the disaster zone has brought large-scale construction machinery and advanced gear, including reconnaissance drones, according to state media. Photo: Handout

A combination of satellite images shows the valleys near the Nepal-China border on Tuesday, before the devastating landslide and floods (top), and on Wednesday, after the disaster.  Photo: 2026 PLANET LABS PBC via Reuters

The authorities have closed the roads leading to the disaster site for the next seven days. Photo: Handout

China-Nepal floods: debris lake the size of 1,000 Olympic pools in breach danger

A barrier lake has formed after the debris flow from Wednesday’s mudslide in Nepal blocked a river upstream from Gyirong Port on the Chinese side of the border. Photo: Xinhua

A composite of satellite images showing the scale of the disaster at Gyirong Port. The image on the left was taken on Wednesday while the one on the right is the same location in January. Photo: Xinhua

China-Nepal floods: police officer filmed guiding people away from stricken border post

The officer has been identified as Huang Peng. Photo: CCTV

A brief video clip shows the officer directing people away from the border post. Photo: CCTV

Could the China-Nepal disaster spur a safety rethink for a flagship rail project?

Researchers on both sides of the Nepal-China border say the disaster highlights the need for a joint approach to hazard management. Photo: AFP

Chinese rescuers reach checkpoint destroyed by deadly flash floods along Nepal border

The first rescue teams reached the border crossing in Gyirong. Photo: CCTV

A staff member checks the phone numbers of evacuees in Jifu, a village in Tibet. Photo: Xinhua

Rescue teams battle their way through challenging conditions. Photo: Reuters

In Gyirong county, a medical worker gives a girl a check-up on Thursday after the disaster. Photo: Xinhua

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Move follows direct request from Kathmandu, Beijing says, as more than 100 people remain trapped inside multiple hydropower tunnels in Nepal


Move follows direct request from Kathmandu, Beijing says, as more than 100 people remain trapped inside multiple hydropower tunnels in Nepal.


2026 China-Nepal flash floods

Nepal

Tibet

China-Nepal floods: 9 Chinese tunnel experts sent to aid rescue in race against time

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Move follows direct request from Kathmandu, Beijing says, as more than 100 people remain trapped inside multiple hydropower tunnels in Nepal

Move follows direct request from Kathmandu, Beijing says, as more than 100 people remain trapped inside multiple hydropower tunnels in Nepal