China restores road access to Tibet disaster zone as search intensifies
Summary
China has reopened the road to the Gyirong border crossing into Nepal, allowing heavy machinery into the core disaster zone as search and rescue operations intensify. Hundreds remain missing in Tibet after glacier collapse-triggered mudslides and floods swept through the China-Nepal border region.
Key Points
- China fully reopened the G216 national highway to the Gyirong border crossing a week after catastrophic flooding tore it apart.
- Heavy machinery, rescue teams, excavators, life-detection equipment and search dogs have been deployed to intensify searches for the missing.
- Authorities said risks from upstream lakes have diminished, though landslides remain a concern.
- China said 546 people were still unaccounted for in Tibet, while Nepal’s death toll from the disaster rose above 1,000.
