The video, recorded on August 26, captured the second a glacier collapse on the Nepal side triggered a devastating flash flood and mudslide that swept by way of the Himalayan border area.
Almost two weeks later, worldwide journalists have been allowed to see the destruction on the Chinese language facet of the Nepal-Tibet border. What they discovered was a panorama nearly not possible to recognise, information company Reuters reported.
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Nepal-Tibet Floods · Gyirong Port
Gyirong Port after the August 26 floods
Almost two weeks on, worldwide media have been lastly proven what a glacier collapse did to a border crossing that when noticed 100,000-plus crossings a yr.
The human toll
1,300+ useless
Throughout Nepal and Tibet
5,000+ lacking
Throughout either side of the border
August 26, 2026
A glacier on Nepal’s Langtang Lirung fractured at about 5,200 metres, triggering an ice-rock avalanche that scoured down the mountainside and developed into an enormous particles circulate of water, ice, rock and dust.
22 km
Distance travelled by the mudslide
7 minutes
Time to achieve Gyirong Port, per analysis cited by PTI
Gyirong Port
A key China-Nepal border crossing in Tibet.
5-storey customs constructing
Gone
20-metre border gate
Gone
The location was diminished to a subject of grey-black mud, with solely a part of a close-by water-tower construction nonetheless seen.
On the Chinese language facet
261
Foreigners lacking, from 23 nations
49
Indians amongst these lacking
993 private belongings recovered
Rescuers are recording:
- Fingerprints
- Tattoos and different figuring out options
- Private belongings
Groups are utilizing excavators, shovels and ground-penetrating radar to look the particles.
Commerce + pilgrimage
Gyirong turned the principle China-Nepal crossing after the 2015 earthquake broken one other route. It’s also a route utilized by pilgrims travelling by way of Nepal in the direction of Mount Kailash in Tibet.
Almost two weeks later
For the primary time because the catastrophe, worldwide media have been taken to the Chinese language facet of the border on September 6.
What they discovered: a border crossing nearly fully erased by mud and particles.
49 Indians stay amongst these lacking on the Chinese language facet
Individually, India’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs has mentioned 275 Indians remained lacking throughout the broader Nepal flood catastrophe, whereas 166 had been rescued.
These figures cowl completely different geographic teams — the Gyirong/Chinese language-side rely and the broader Nepal-side rely — and shouldn’t be mixed.
Casualty figures for an lively catastrophe response stay provisional and are anticipated to vary as search operations proceed.
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The five-storey Chinese language customs constructing at Gyirong Port was gone. The almost 20-metre-high border gate had disappeared. Gray and black mud coated the world, whereas rescue employees continued looking for individuals and human stays.
The go to, organised by China’s overseas ministry on September 6, offered worldwide media with one of many clearest seems to be but on the scale of destruction on the China-Nepal border crossing. Reuters reporters who visited the positioning described rescue groups utilizing excavators, shovels and ground-penetrating radar to look the particles.
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However behind the destroyed buildings is an much more sobering quantity: a whole lot of individuals are nonetheless lacking.
Greater than 5,000 individuals are lacking
The August 26 Nepal floods have turn out to be one of many area’s deadliest disasters.
By September 7, a minimum of 1,380 individuals had died and greater than 5,500 remained lacking throughout Nepal and Tibet, in line with Reuters. Nepal was observing a nationwide day of mourning as search operations continued.
On the Chinese language facet, authorities reported 43 deaths and 519 individuals lacking. Of these lacking, 261 have been overseas nationals from 23 nations, Reuters reported. That features 49 Indian residents.
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The determine is especially vital as a result of Gyirong just isn’t merely a border crossing. It is a crucial route for individuals travelling between Nepal and Tibet, together with pilgrims heading in the direction of Mount Kailash, certainly one of Hinduism’s most sacred websites.
Watch the August 26 video. Then have a look at Gyirong immediately
The distinction between the video and the pictures taken almost two weeks later tells the story higher than the numbers.
Within the August 26 footage, floodwater and particles surge in the direction of the border infrastructure with extraordinary velocity.
Within the later photos, there may be nearly nothing left.
The Chinese language customs constructing has disappeared. Rescue employees transfer by way of thick layers of mud. A Chinese language flag marks the world the place the border gate as soon as stood.
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Warning indicators inform individuals to maneuver shortly by way of what stays of the catastrophe zone.
PTI, which was among the many overseas media allowed into the world, reported that even officers concerned within the rescue operation struggled to determine precisely the place some buildings had stood. Iron rods protruding from the bottom have been used to point the approximate location of the previous immigration constructing.
A small memorial with yellow flowers had additionally been positioned close to what was believed to be the previous gate.
Why have been so many Indians at Gyirong Port?
Gyirong Port is a key gateway for Indians travelling to Kailash Mansarovar through Nepal. Pilgrims journey from Kathmandu by way of Rasuwa to Rasuwagadhi, cross into Tibet at Gyirong, then proceed to Darchen. The overland journey takes about 10–14 days.
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The route has grown sharply in recognition: 13,523 pilgrims and spiritual vacationers crossed Rasuwagadhi in 2025-26, up 18.75% from the earlier yr. Non-public Nepal operators additionally supply routes with out the MEA’s roughly 1,000-pilgrim annual cap, making them an vital different for Indian travellers.
Rescue groups are nonetheless looking for the lacking
The operation at Gyirong Port is now as a lot about figuring out the useless as discovering survivors.
Chinese language officers instructed visiting journalists that restoration groups have been recording fingerprints and bodily options resembling tattoos from our bodies recovered from the mud.
They’d additionally collected 993 private belongings from the catastrophe website, Reuters reported.
These belongings could possibly be vital for households making an attempt to ascertain what occurred to relations who disappeared within the Nepal-Tibet floods.
The identification course of is especially difficult as a result of so many overseas nationals have been within the space when the catastrophe struck.
49 Indians amongst these lacking in Tibet
For Indian households, the destruction at Gyirong has a direct human dimension.
Chinese language authorities have reported 49 Indians among the many 261 overseas nationals nonetheless lacking on the Chinese language facet, in line with Reuters. Lots of the overseas nationals have been believed to be pilgrims travelling in the direction of Mount Kailash.
The quantity must be distinguished from the broader determine of Indians reported lacking throughout your complete catastrophe space.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs subsequently said 275 Indian nationals remained missing and 166 had been rescued in reference to the Nepal floods. It additionally mentioned 1,907 Indians had safely crossed into Nepal from China.
The distinction displays the truth that the 2 figures cowl completely different teams and places.
For households of these nonetheless lacking, nonetheless, the issue is similar — uncertainty.
Households need info from China
The worldwide media go to additionally introduced renewed consideration to questions on information-sharing.
Households and diplomats representing nations with lacking residents have privately expressed frustration to Reuters over what they describe as restricted info from Chinese language authorities.
Among the many unresolved questions is how DNA testing will probably be used to determine victims.
Diplomats from 4 nations instructed Reuters that they had not acquired particulars about China’s DNA identification course of. In addition they raised questions on whether or not video recorded on the border crossing — together with attainable facial-recognition footage — could possibly be shared with households or used to assist determine lacking individuals.
China has rejected ideas that it has failed to offer satisfactory info. Its overseas ministry has mentioned its reporting of the catastrophe has been clear and well timed and that Beijing is prepared to cooperate with different nations and businesses.
Why Gyirong Port issues to India
The destruction of Gyirong is vital past the fast rescue operation.
After the 2015 Nepal earthquake broken one other main crossing farther east, Gyirong turned the principal route for commerce and journey between Nepal and Tibet.
The crossing dealt with Chinese language exports, together with electrical autos, and have become a route for pilgrims travelling by way of Nepal in the direction of Mount Kailash in Tibet.
That makes the catastrophe significantly related to India.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra attracts Indian pilgrims, lots of whom journey by way of Nepal earlier than coming into Tibet. A number of teams have been close to the China-Nepal border when the August 26 flash flood struck.
The Guardian beforehand reported that most of the lacking overseas nationals had been travelling in the direction of the Kailash area, whereas households waited in Nepal for details about their relations.
How a glacier collapse turned a devastating flash flood
The catastrophe started excessive within the Himalayas however its penalties travelled quickly downstream. Chinese language officers have mentioned the August 26 occasion originated on the Nepalese facet of the border.
Norbu Tsering, deputy head of China’s emergency rescue headquarters, mentioned larger worldwide cooperation was wanted to enhance monitoring and early-warning techniques.
Chinese language scientists say greater than 3,000 glacial lakes have been recognized on the Tibetan Plateau, together with 187 categorized as high-risk and monitored utilizing distant sensors or floor checks.
Analysis cited by PTI from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Analysis, Chinese language Academy of Sciences, discovered that the mudslide travelled about 22 km down the valley and reached Gyirong Port in roughly seven minutes.
The preliminary collapse of ice and rock gathered further materials because it moved, scouring the riverbed and pulling particles from the valley into the circulate.
(With inputs from businesses)
