Xi urges all-out rescue, relief efforts after mudslide hits border port in Xizang
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out efforts to search and rescue people who are missing after a mudslide in Nepal caused casualties at Gyirong border port in southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region on Wednesday morning.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called for efforts to evacuate residents at risk and provide timely medical treatment to the injured to minimize casualties.
He issued the instructions after the mudslide struck the port in Gyirong County, causing severe casualties.
As of 8 p.m., it had killed three people and left 265 others missing, according to the on-site headquarters. Authorities are still verifying the casualties.
In the instructions, Xi stressed the need to strengthen monitoring and early warning, ensure scientific rescue operations, and guard against secondary disasters.
Noting that China is currently in a critical period of flood control, he urged local authorities and relevant departments to prepare for worst-case scenarios and extreme situations, fully implement measures for flood and typhoon prevention, and step up efforts to identify and address potential risks and hazards.
He demanded resolute action to prevent major and catastrophic disasters and accidents and safeguard people’s lives and property.
Premier Li Qiang also issued instructions, calling for an immediate verification of the number of missing and affected people and for all-out rescue and relief efforts.
Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, instructed the Foreign Ministry to strengthen communication and coordination with relevant countries, promptly share information and work together to properly handle rescue and relief efforts.
Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, led officials from relevant departments to the site to guide rescue and disaster-response operations.
Authorities in Xizang have mobilized forces to carry out search and rescue operations. All relevant operations are underway.
Reference Link:- https://english.news.cn/20260827/56c5d9dd69de437c94db35fe257383e9/c.html
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
