China Restores Access to Tibet Disaster Zone as Highway Reopens

China has fully reopened the road to the Gyirong border crossing with Nepal, a week after catastrophic flooding washed away sections of the G216 national highway. The reopening allowed heavy machinery to reach the main disaster zone for the first time.

Authorities had previously relied on airdrops of equipment and supplies, while some rescuers trekked through the mountains. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said excavators and other machinery had now reached the site of a former Chinese border inspection complex. Rescue crews equipped with life-detection devices and search dogs were deployed to support the search.

Persistent rain and difficult terrain continue to slow the operation. Crews are working in a narrow mountain gorge between unstable cliffs and a fast-flowing river. Authorities said the risk from upstream lakes that could trigger further flooding had diminished, but landslides remained a concern.

Across the border in Nepal, officials said hopes of finding more survivors were fading. At least 1,114 people have died there and nearly 4,000 remain unaccounted for. In Tibet, China’s official death toll rose to 21, with 541 people still missing.

Authorities previously said the missing included 104 Nepali citizens, 49 Indians, 33 Latvians and six Canadians. Latvia’s ambassador to China, Karlis Eihenbaums, said the embassy remained in permanent contact with Chinese officials. Canada also said its representatives were receiving regular updates. Much of the information from Tibet has come through Chinese state-controlled media. China’s foreign ministry cited damaged roads, disrupted communications and risks from secondary disasters when asked why foreign journalists had not been allowed into the disaster zone.