BEIJING — China’s top leadership has ordered an intensified search-and-rescue operation following a deadly mudslide at a border crossing in Tibet, after the disaster left people dead and others missing.

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee met in Beijing on 28 August to review the emergency response in Gyirong County, in Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region. The meeting was chaired by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

At the start of the meeting, Xi called on members of the leadership to stand for a minute’s silence in memory of those who died in the disaster.

The mudslide occurred on the Nepali side of the border and caused major casualties and left people unaccounted for at the Gyirong border port in Shigatse.

Xi issued immediate instructions after the disaster, calling for a comprehensive rescue and emergency response. Premier Li Qiang subsequently travelled to the affected area, where he visited residents and rescue workers and directed operations on the ground.

Zhang Guoqing, a member of the Political Bureau and Vice-Premier of the State Council, also travelled to the site to oversee the response.

Chinese authorities said emergency services had been mobilised rapidly, including local government departments, the Ministry of Emergency Management, fire and rescue teams and specialist engineering units. The People’s Liberation Army and the People’s Armed Police Force were also deployed.

Officials said rescue operations were continuing in difficult conditions, while arrangements were being made for displaced residents and for the wider humanitarian response.

Search operation faces severe conditions

The Politburo warned that the rescue operation was taking place in one of China’s most challenging environments, with high altitude, extremely low temperatures, steep valleys and rapidly changing weather.

The area is also surrounded by glaciers, glacial lakes and locations considered vulnerable to further geological disasters.

Authorities have therefore been instructed to draw up detailed search-and-rescue plans and make every effort to locate missing people, including foreign nationals.

Officials have also been ordered to strengthen co-ordination between government departments, improve monitoring and early-warning systems, and closely assess the stability of glacial lakes and surrounding mountains.

Particular attention is being given to the possibility of secondary disasters.

The authorities have also been told to strengthen safety controls for personnel working at the disaster site, while ensuring that affected residents receive appropriate accommodation, compensation and relief.

China said it would provide emergency assistance to disaster-affected areas in Nepal and strengthen international co-operation on rescue and disaster response.

Broader review of disaster risks

The meeting also called for a wider assessment of potential hazards across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Authorities are expected to accelerate surveys of glaciers and glacial lakes and improve real-time monitoring and early-warning systems. The leadership said China needed to strengthen its ability to identify interconnected “disaster chains”, in which one natural hazard could trigger another.

Emergency response arrangements should also be improved, particularly in areas upstream and downstream of major rivers and around high-risk zones.

Officials have been instructed to establish evacuation routes and designated accommodation sites in advance so that residents can be moved quickly when necessary.

The Politburo also called for greater investment in specialist rescue capabilities in remote high-altitude, mountainous and border regions, including additional fire and rescue teams and engineering units.

China’s emergency services must also be better prepared to operate when roads, electricity supplies or telecommunications networks have been cut.

The meeting called for closer international co-operation on disaster management in border areas, particularly between China and neighbouring countries.

Xi calls for vigilance over security

The meeting concluded with a broader warning that economic development must be accompanied by greater attention to security and risk management.

Xi and other senior officials called for what Chinese authorities described as a “worst-case” and “bottom-line” approach to risk, urging officials to maintain a constant sense of responsibility for public safety and social stability.

The meeting also considered other matters.

Source: Xinhua News Agency; Tencent News.