네팔 경찰 “티베트 댐 붕괴 정보 입수”…추가 홍수 가능성에 긴장 고조

Nepal police have received information from the Chinese Tibet autonomous region that a natural dam has collapsed, raising concerns about potential additional flooding and increased tension in the area. As a precaution, Nepal and China halted rescue operations temporarily. However, the rescue efforts resumed later. According to AFP and Reuters reports, on the aforementioned day, Nepal police stated that "information received from the Tibet side that the dam collapsed again" and urged all security personnel, rescuers, and general citizens to maintain vigilance, evacuate to safe locations immediately, and report the situation.

The Sanchi Mahat Nepal National Disaster Risk Management and Mitigation Agency spokesperson also confirmed reports of slightly increased flow of mudwater from the Lhasa-Boteco River where the large-scale flooding occurred. However, it remains unclear if the 'dam collapse' information received by Nepal refers to the natural dam collapse warned by the Chinese authorities earlier.

Earlier, China had warned that the water from the dammed lake at the border has already overflowed and the collapse of the dam is likely. The China Central Television reported that China expects 3 million cubic meters of water to flow into the lake within the next three days, which is equivalent to approximately 1200 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Yet, the Chinese Central Broadcasting claimed that the water level of the dammed lake fell by around 10 meters compared to the previous evening, and the risk is gradually decreasing. As the dammed lake overflowed and posed a risk of collapse, rescue operations in Nepal and China were temporarily halted. According to Reuters, Nepal's rescue operations were suspended for 1 hour and 30 minutes before being resumed.

Residents were instructed to move to higher ground, and rescuers evacuated to safe zones with their equipment. Earlier, the Chinese authorities evacuated all rescue teams and vehicles to safety zones due to concerns about the safety of rescuers, and resumed rescue operations in the afternoon. Heavy ice and rocks from a large-scale collapsed glacier at an altitude of 7200 meters in Lantang Ri mountain fell into the river, causing flooding in Nepal and Tibet. As of now, at least 478 people have been reported dead and over 1500 are missing.