BEIJING: The death toll from flash floods in Tibet near the Nepal border has climbed to seven, with 554 people still missing as rescue and relief teams intensified efforts in the affected areas, the Tibet emergency management department said on Saturday.
The flash floods hit Gyirong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday, sweeping through villages and towns near the border area with Nepal.
The death toll in the region has risen to seven, while 554 people are still missing, Tibet's emergency management department said.
Among the missing, 260 have been identified as foreign nationals but their nationalities have not been released yet.
Chinese officials said on Friday more than 1,000 people, including 555 tourists and 499 locals, were evacuated from Gyirong County.
No tourist remains stranded in the area now, the official media reported.
A large number of Indian pilgrims are visiting Tibet to take part in the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra following improvement in ties between China and India.
Some of the Indian pilgrims were reportedly at the immigration building at the Tibet-Nepal border when it was hit hard by the flash flood.
The Chinese government is in the process of releasing information about the stranded and missing tourists to the respective embassies in Beijing, including the Indian Embassy.
A total of 2,141 rescue workers and 86 specialists from natural resources and other relevant fields in China have been deployed to the disaster area in Tibet, according to official media reports.
"As far as I can see, it’s nothing but debris,” rescue official Zou Mingqi told state media.
With specialised equipment, rescue teams have stepped up inspections for geological hazards across surrounding slopes, roads and other critical zones.
On Thursday, China sounded a Level-IV alert, warning that a newly formed barrier lake at the confluence of Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers faces a high risk of breaching and flooding downstream areas.
A five-person monitoring post has been set up to keep the barrier lake under constant observation and guard against potential secondary disasters.
In addition, over 1 kilometre of road has been cleared and reopened to traffic. The flash floods have killed 626 people on the Nepalese side.