A tourist filming the mountainous landscape in Gyirong County in China’s Xizang Autonomous Region may have accidentally captured the high-altitude glacier collapse that triggered the devastating mudslide at Gyirong Port along the Nepal-China border.
Experts examining the footage believe the video could provide crucial evidence about the origin of the disaster, which struck on August 26 and caused widespread destruction on both sides of the border. At least 626 people have been killed in the calamity in Nepal while search and rescue operations continue for more than 2,500 people missing.
Video shows glacier collapse that caused tragedy
Kang Shichang, director of the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the location seen in the video corresponds with the area identified through remote-sensing imagery as the source of the disaster.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the footage is believed to show the glacier collapse on the Nepalese side of the border that triggered a chain of events leading to the powerful mudslide at Gyirong Port.
How the disaster reached Nepal
The disaster began when an ice-rock mass collapsed in a high-altitude region of Nepal, sending enormous quantities of ice, rocks and debris down mountain valleys. The material subsequently developed into a powerful debris flow that crossed towards China and devastated the Gyirong Port area in Xizang.
Chinese media reported that the glacier collapse occurred at an altitude of around 5,140 metres and covered an area of approximately 620,000 square metres. The resulting debris flow travelled nearly 20 kilometres, dropping around 3,300 metres in elevation before reaching Gyirong Port in approximately seven minutes.
The speed and scale of the debris flow left little time for residents and authorities to respond as it swept through mountain valleys.
The disaster caused extensive destruction on both sides of the Nepal-China border, damaging or sweeping away villages, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure.
Rescue and relief operations have continued in difficult mountainous terrain, while authorities remain concerned about the possibility of further flooding.
Fresh flood threat
Nepal is now on alert over the possibility of another flood, just days after the devastating flash flood struck several parts of the country.
Chinese authorities have warned that a temporary barrier lake formed upstream in the affected region could breach at any moment, potentially triggering another surge of floodwater downstream, according to reports.
Authorities are continuing to monitor the situation closely as rescue operations and assessments of the disaster continue.
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