China-Nepal floods: police officer filmed guiding people away from stricken border post

On Wednesday, a catastrophic mudslide struck a border post in Tibet, leaving one police officer and many civilians in peril. Moments before the disaster, an officer named Huang Peng was seen in a viral video, attempting to guide people away from the police station at Gyirong Port. The 34-year-old officer, who had served at the border station for 13 years, also rushed into a nearby tourist service centre to instruct occupants to evacuate. Tragically, it remains unknown if Huang survived the incident.

The landslide was triggered by the collapse of a glacier approximately 7km (4.3 miles) from the border crossing. The debris was moving at an alarming speed of 50 meters (164 feet) per second when it hit the crossing, leaving little chance for those nearby to react. Satellite imagery reveals that all structures at Gyirong Port were completely destroyed by the mudslide, causing the social media accounts of the border team to go silent.

The disaster cut off power and internet and phone signals in the affected area. However, telecoms services were restored to one village around 3km from the border on Thursday, according to state news agency Xinhua. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing on both sides of the border, with seven lives confirmed lost on the Chinese side and 544 missing. In Nepal, at least 675 people have been confirmed dead, while over 2,400 remain unaccounted for.