Chinese Rescuers Rebuild Last 1 km to Nepal Border as Tibet Mudslide Death Toll Holds at 16
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 1
Chinese Rescuers Rebuild Last 1 km to Nepal Border as Tibet Mudslide Death Toll Holds at 16
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 1
Summary
Chinese rescue teams worked overnight in heavy rain to restore the final 1 km of National Highway 216, the only road to the Gyirong crossing into Nepal after last week's mudslide.
River currents of 6 to 7 metres per second — up to six times normal speed — repeatedly washed out repair work in a narrow gorge with crumbling cliffs and almost no stable ground.
The road was destroyed after a glacier collapse on Wednesday triggered mudslides and floods across river systems in Tibet and Nepal, and more than 60 rescuers have searched the wreckage twice for survivors.
Danger remains high: authorities warn an unstable upstream water body in Nepal or another glacier collapse into a crater holding water equal to 260 Olympic pools could unleash a fresh torrent.
China's official toll was unchanged from Sunday at 16 dead and 546 missing, with heavier rain forecast through Wednesday threatening to swell rivers and lakes further.