Nearly a week after the disaster struck, rescue forces in Gyirong county, Shigatse, in China's Xizang autonomous region, are still working to clear sections of Highway G216 that were destroyed by the mudslide. Footage from Sunday showed a line of excavators working in tandem along a stretch of road hemmed in by steep cliffs, clearing away accumulated mud and rock to reopen a path for rescue vehicles and supplies.
Reopening a lifeline
Highway G216 is a key route linking Gyirong port to the outside world, and it was cut off when the mudslide struck, along with communication and power infrastructure in the area. Clearing the damaged sections has become one of the critical tasks in the ongoing response, since it directly affects how quickly rescue equipment, medical supplies and gear needed for handling the upstream barrier lake can reach the site.
As the rescue and verification work has continued, the official count of the dead and missing has kept changing. By the fifth day of the response, reports put the confirmed death toll at 16, with 546 people still listed as missing. The disaster, which struck a border area on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has posed a persistent challenge for both reopening roads and continuing the search given the region's high altitude, thin air and difficult terrain.
