Li Qiang visits Tibet flood zone as 360 go missing near Nepal border

Beijing,UPDATED: Aug 27, 2026 16:06 IST

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday visited Gyirong Township near the Nepal border in Tibet after a massive flash flood caused heavy casualties and left hundreds missing in Tibet and neighbouring Nepal.

Chinese authorities said 360 people were reported missing in Tibet and three people were killed there, while 270 people died in Nepal. Rescue and relief operations were under way after President Xi Jinping ordered all-out search and rescue efforts, with senior officials and military teams sent to the affected area.

The flash flood hit Gyirong Township in the Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday morning, sweeping through villages and towns near the China-Nepal border. Li led a group of senior officials from relevant departments to the disaster-hit area, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. The officials are expected to supervise rescue and relief work and visit people affected by the disaster.

A directing group of the People's Liberation Army Western Theatre Command, which oversees the India-China border in Tibet, was also sent to the area on Thursday to coordinate joint rescue operations by military personnel in Gyirong County. Xinhua said the group was flown in by a Y-20 transport aircraft and will organise military forces to assist with disaster relief.

The command has mobilised multiple rescue teams to help with road clearance, disaster assessment, search and rescue operations, and the relocation of affected residents. The team will take unified command of PLA and Armed Police Force rescue units, with aviation, medical, transport and engineering teams ready for operations when needed, the report said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said preliminary information from local authorities showed that 260 foreign nationals were currently missing in the area, while further details were still being verified. He also said nearly 100 Chinese nationals were missing in the affected area on the Nepal side, and that the Chinese Embassy in Nepal was verifying the information with Nepalese authorities.

Lin said China was maintaining close communication and coordination with Nepal and working with the Nepalese side on the search and rescue operations. He added that more detailed information was still being awaited because of the impact of the disaster. On Wednesday, the Indian Embassy in China issued an advisory with contact points for stranded Indians caught in the flash floods.

The flooding in the Tibet-Nepal border area has triggered a large rescue response from China, with Li, senior officials and military teams deployed as authorities continue search, relief and verification efforts in both Tibet and Nepal.

With PTI Inputs

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