More than 270 people have been confirmed dead, and over 1,300 others remain missing, including at least 700 foreigners, after catastrophic flash floods tore through the mountainous China-Nepal border region on Wednesday, with search and rescue efforts still under way.
The US Geological Survey attributed the disaster to a glacial collapse, in which a large section of ice broke off a glacier and came crashing down a slope, unleashing a torrent of water that submerged villages and destroyed bridges in the area. Dramatic footage captured the moment the flood swept through the mountainous terrain.
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About 22 hours after the flooding struck, Chinese emergency responders reached Gyirong Port, one of the hardest-hit facilities and a crossing point that handles nearly a third of all trade between China and Nepal. An initial team of 141 rescuers arrived at the site, backed by a high-altitude Mi-171 helicopter.
State media warned that the region remains at risk of further landslides, mudslides and flash floods, with three more days of rain forecast and collapsed earth already forming unstable natural dams that could give way.
(CNN)
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