BEIJING (AFP): Emergency workers, officials and residents in Tibet held memorial services on Tuesday to mourn people killed in a devastating mudslide last week, Chinese state media reported.
Official figures put the number of dead in China at 16, with another 546 people missing after floods tore through parts of Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, sweeping away entire villages.
Including at least 987 deaths in Nepal, the total number of people killed in the disaster has surpassed 1,000.
Gyirong, the hardest-hit county in Tibet, held several memorial services, including at rescue sites, China's official news agency Xinhua said.
"Rescuers, local officials and residents stood in silence to mourn the victims," the report said.
Images published by state broadcaster CCTV showed soldiers, doctors and rescue workers with their heads bowed as they observed a moment of silence.
Emergency personnel were seen next to excavators and a swollen, muddy river as they stood silent to honour those killed.
Tibet, an autonomous region of China, is largely inaccessible to foreign journalists, preventing independent reporting on the scale of the disaster.
Chinese rescuers were "working round the clock" on Tuesday to reopen a major highway to allow for emergency supplies and workers to reach the Gyirong Port border post, Xinhua said.
The mudslide disrupted power supplies and damaged a section of the highway, hampering rescue efforts, it added.
Experts warn that the Gyirong area may be hit by significant rainfall in the coming days.
China is expected to send its second batch of relief resources to Nepal on Tuesday, Beijing's foreign ministry said.
"It includes drones, DNA testing equipment, water purification and lighting equipment, and other supplies urgently needed by Nepal," spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters at a news briefing.
"China will firmly stand with Nepal, working hand-in-hand to overcome these trying times, showing neighbourly friendship through concrete actions," he added. -- AFP
