A massive landslide at the Gyirung border point was caused by a glacier collapse on the Nepalese side, an expert said
Flash floods and landslides on the Nepalese side of the border, triggered by the same glacier collapse, have killed at least 359 people and left more than 1,300 missing, Nepalese authorities said on Thursday.
When giant masses of ice and rock break off from thousands of metres high and rush downhill at 180 kilometres per hour, people have almost no time to escape. The tragedy in the Gyirung (Kyirong) area is a stark reminder that climate change is accelerating the melting and destabilisation of mountain glaciers, turning once calm rivers into deadly torrents. The border between China and Nepal in this region is not just an administrative line — it is a shared risk zone where nature does not recognise national boundaries. If such disasters used to occur once in decades, today they are becoming more frequent, demanding joint efforts in monitoring and protecting people living in the shadow of the Himalayas.
The glacier collapse quickly sent debris down the slope into mountain rivers, causing flash floods and widespread destruction on both sides of the border, said Guo Zhaocheng, an expert from the Ministry of Natural Resources. "We assume that a high‑altitude glacier collapsed in the Trishuli River, a tributary in Nepal, which stripped the moraine in the ravine and moved at high speed along it towards the Chobar Gorge and the Donglin Tsangpo ravine, affecting the Gyirung port," Guo said. The wave of floodwater and debris was estimated to have moved at about 180 kilometres per hour, leaving people little time to respond along its 20‑kilometre destructive path. "Because glaciers are in motion, they carry rocks from high mountains downstream. However, in some steep areas and regions with fragmented structure, glaciers suddenly collapse, similar to rocks splitting. It took the collapsed glacier only seven minutes to travel about 20 kilometres and reach the Gyirung port. This happens very fast. If it moved regularly under normal conditions, it would not cause a disaster. However, when it experiences such intense movement, such as sudden advance or collapse, and falls from a high altitude, it carries accumulated material down a steep ravine, forming a high‑speed flow, which is why it moves so fast," Guo said.
The Gyirung (Kyirong) border point is located in southwestern China, in the Tibet Autonomous Region, on the border with Nepal. It is an important trade corridor connecting China with South Asia. The area is at high risk of glacial lake outbursts, floods and landslides due to high seismic activity and climate change. The glacier collapse on the Nepalese side triggered a catastrophic flow of water, rocks and mud that swept through the gorges and affected border areas. Nepal has already declared a state of emergency, and the death toll continues to rise.
As CCTV+ reports, expert Guo Zhaocheng stressed that disaster prevention and mitigation efforts on the Qinghai‑Tibet Plateau must be upgraded to fully account for such complex conditions. This tragedy shows that global warming and glacier melting require not only international cooperation but also new approaches to forecasting and protecting populations in mountainous regions. Without this, similar disasters will recur with increasingly devastating consequences.
