Tibet-Nepal mudslide leaves 588 missing as China mounts military rescue

Beijing,UPDATED: Aug 27, 2026 09:44 IST

A massive mudslide near the China-Nepal border has left three people dead and 588 missing in Tibet, according to official media reports on Thursday. Two local villagers have been rescued so far, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

The mudslide, which occurred on the Nepalese side, struck Gyirong Port in Gyirong County in Tibet on Wednesday morning. President Xi Jinping on Wednesday ordered all-out efforts to search for and rescue those missing after devastating flash floods swept through villages and towns in the border area, causing heavy casualties.

Xinhua said the latest toll from the mudslide was three dead and 588 missing. As rescue work continued, a directing group of the People's Liberation Army Western Theatre Command, which looks after the India-China border in Tibet, was sent to the affected area on Thursday to coordinate joint rescue operations by military personnel in mudslide-hit Gyirong County near the Nepal border.

The group was flown in by a Y-20 transport aircraft and will organise military forces to assist in disaster relief efforts, the report said. Xinhua said the command responded immediately after the disaster, mobilising multiple rescue forces to help with road clearance, disaster assessment, search and rescue operations, and the relocation of affected residents.

The team sent to the area will take unified command of PLA and Armed Police Force rescue units, with aviation, medical, transport and engineering teams fully prepared for operations when needed, the report added. On Wednesday, the Indian Embassy in China also issued an advisory with contact points for Indians stranded in the flash floods in the Tibet-Nepal border area to seek assistance.

The mudslide and flash floods in the Tibet-Nepal border region have triggered a large rescue operation, with Chinese authorities reporting three deaths, 588 missing people and two villagers rescued so far, while the Indian Embassy has issued contact details for stranded Indians.

With PTI Inputs

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