NEW DELHI: Four days after a devastating flash flood swept through the Nepal-Tibet border region that killed at least 580 and 2400 missing, Chinese rescuers finally reached the Gyirong immigration centre that was swallowed by a massive wall of water and mud. Revised its earlier decision not to allow any foreign country send rescue teamsNepal has allowed both India And China to send their teams for rescuing the victims.
The rescue team, however, found “nothing but ruins” at the border crossing, where several Indian pilgrims were present – either on their way to Tibet for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra or returning after completing the pilgrimage. An 80-member team of spiritual leader Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation was also at the immigration centre when tragedy struck.
Nothing remains of the checkpoint or its surrounding infrastructure, with large parts of the area buried under debris and thick layers of mud. With much of the road to Gyirong destroyed, the 21-member Chinese rescue team, accompanied by a search dog, had to undertake an arduous journey to reach the site. The rescuers crossed mountains and valleys, using ropes to make their way through forests and cliffs before eventually reaching the devastated border complex.
“There was no road. It was all virgin forest and sheer cliffs,” a rescue worker, Zou Mingqi, said. “At the complex, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but ruins,” he said.
While visuals of the extent of damage on the Chinese side have been rare, largely due to censorship by Beijing, photos posted by Reuters of Gyirong show a building reduced to a rubble, with debris and pieces of construction material strewn around. Large rocks and boulders are seen scattered across the road leading to the immigration centre, suggesting the force of the flood.
The road itself is in a bad shape, muddied and buried under massive piles of debris and mud. Thick branches from uprooted trees are seen jutting out from the wreckage. Excavators are seen clearing the debris as rescue workers race to restore the key road that connects Tibet and Nepal.
The road itself is in a bad shape, muddied and buried under massive piles of debris and mud. Thick branches from uprooted trees are seen jutting out from the wreckage. Excavators are seen clearing the debris as rescue workers race to restore the key road that connects Tibet and Nepal.
FLOODS DEVASTATE IMMIGRATION CENTRE
Nepal faced one of its worst disasters since the 2015 earthquakes after a massive flash flood struck districts bordering Tibet on August 25, sweeping away homes, vehicles and bridges. The disaster has left over 600 dead, with around 2,000 still missing as rescuers race against time to find the survivors and those stranded.
Nearly 320 Indians remain missing in Nepal, while the government has managed to establish contact with around 400 citizens on the Chinese side, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.
Some of the most dramatic footage from the floods was captured on CCTV at the Gyirong port region. Visuals showed a sudden rush of water and mud flowing over the multi-storey immigration office, as people in the area attempted to escape.
The Gyirong border port connects Tibet and Nepal. Every traveller bound for Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar must clear immigration here. Though there are checkpoints at Khasa and Korala, Gyirong is the most widely used route.
According to a report in the NYT, at least 130 people were near or at the immigration centre when the floods struck. The largest group, of 80 people, was part of Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation.
In an emotional video released earlier this week, a tearful Sadhguru said that the group – 46 women and 34 men from 19 countries – had reached the immigration checkpoint minutes before tragedy struck.
“Literally, the entire group was there at the building… This is a terrible and extraordinary event,” Sadhguru said, as people could be heard weeping around him.
The spiritual leader, who is in Tibet’s Saga, recounted that he led his own tour group through the same immigration checkpoint just days earlier. “The same building where we were for the immigration just a week ago… that entire building is washed away,” he said.
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