More than 50 hours after Wednesday’s flash flood, Chinese professional rescuers reached the core disaster zone around Gyirong dry port on Nepal-Tibet border for the first time on Friday afternoon, using inflatable boats, mountain trails, ropes and heavy-lift drones to bypass obliterated roads. Twenty-one firefighters — six from Tibet and 15 from Sichuan — along with a search dog reached the border-gate area around 4.30pm, hours after an overflowing barrier lake upstream forced rescuers to withdraw to safer ground.
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The breakthrough came after rescuers adopted what China’s national fire and rescue administration described as a “water, land and air” operation: inflatable boats pushed through waterways, teams crossed mountains on foot, and drones surveyed the destruction and carried equipment and supplies into areas vehicles could no longer reach.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang travelled to Gyirong County on Thursday after being dispatched by President Xi Jinping, inspected the disaster zone, met rescuers and visited temporary shelters in the accessible parts of the disaster zone. “As long as there is a glimmer of hope, every effort should be made,” Li said.
By Friday evening, China had mobilised 681 national fire and rescue personnel and 113 vehicles to Gyirong, including teams from Tibet and Sichuan, and sent 6,612 pieces or sets of rescue and support equipment.
