Tibetan activists accuse China of underreporting flood death toll

Fire and rescue personnel use dogs to search for victims of a mudslide beside the road which leads to Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, in China’s western Tibet region. © AFP

Tibetan exiles and activists have accused China of severely underreporting the death toll from the devastating Himalayan floods along its border with Nepal. Beijing has reported 16 deaths and 546 missing in Tibet so far and the foreign ministry insists that the release of information has been "open, transparent and timely".

Exiled Tibetans and advocacy groups have accused China of heavily underreporting the death toll from devastating flooding in border regions with Nepal, claims Beijing rejected as "malicious smearing and sensationalism".