GYIRONG, Xizang, China (Xinhua): Search and rescue operations intensified on Friday at the mudslide-stricken border port of Gyirong in southwest China's Xizang Region as rescue personnel raced against time to save lives after five people were killed and 558 remained missing, reported Xinhua.
As of 10 am on Friday, a total of 681 fire and rescue personnel and 113 vehicles had arrived in the remote mountainous border area, while 6,612 pieces of rescue equipment and logistical supplies had been dispatched to Gyirong Township, according to the National Fire and Rescue Administration.
The mudslide, which occurred on the Nepalese side, struck Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, Xizang, on Wednesday morning.
As of 8 am on Thursday two local villagers had been rescued.
The first team of 141 rescuers, as well as a high-altitude helicopter, arrived at the port on Thursday morning.
Another batch of 111 rescuers from the China Search and Rescue team reached Gyirong County on Thursday afternoon.
The fire and rescue personnel have formed three specialised teams for search and rescue operations: entering by rubber boats on waterways, traveling on foot through mountainous terrain, and conducting aerial reconnaissance and supply drops with drones.
An advance team has also been sent to the core disaster area to conduct mapping, reconnaissance and targeted monitoring of both the site and the barrier lake using drones and telescopes.
A total of 13 experts from the Shanghai Fire Research Institute of the Emergency Management Ministry have also arrived at the site.
A state-owned engineering and rescue enterprise, China Anneng, sent a 15-member team on Friday with reconnaissance drones, portable satellite stations and mobile surveillance cameras to conduct on-site surveys of the blockage and surrounding roads to provide accurate data to support efforts to address the barrier lake.
The debris accumulated about three kilometres upstream of the port can only be safely cleared once the risk posed by the blockage has been resolved, according to rescue personnel at the site. -- Xinhua
