Chinese premier visits disaster-hit Tibet as search for over 550 missing people continues

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday visited disaster-hit Tibet, where more than 550 people remained missing following massive flash floods and mudslides, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Li arrived in Gyirong Township in Tibet, locally known as Xizang Autonomous Region, after the disaster struck the border area.

Li is leading a delegation of senior officials to supervise search and rescue operations, assess damage and meet affected residents and relief personnel, according to Xinhua.

More than 300 villagers from several settlements near Gyirong Port have been evacuated to safe locations across Gyirong county with the assistance of border inspection rescue forces, according to Chinese authorities.

The authorities confirmed three fatalities and said 558 people remain missing, including 260 foreign nationals, after the mudslide struck on Wednesday major land port connecting China and Nepal.

Beijing has launched a Level I emergency response to mitigate the aftermath of the disaster, according to Chinese authorities.

Across the border, Nepalese authorities confirmed 289 deaths and reported 826 people missing.

More than 1,300 people, including nearly 900 foreigners, remain missing on both sides of the border as search operations continue, according to Chinese and Nepalese authorities.

Satellite imagery indicated that the catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides were likely triggered by a massive chunk of ice breaking off a Himalayan glacier roughly 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) northeast of the Rasuwa-Rasuwagadhi border crossing.