China Rejects Baseless Speculation Over Kerung–Rasuwa Disaster

Dragon Media Correspondent

China has rejected what it described as malicious and factually unsupported speculation regarding the cause of the devastating mudslide disaster at the Kerung–Rasuwa border area between China and Nepal.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday in response to comments by some foreign media concerning the cause of the disaster.

Guo said experts and official institutions from both China and Nepal had already conducted preliminary assessments of the incident.

According to those assessments, the mudslide was triggered by the collapse of a high-altitude glacier on the Nepal side of the border, he said.

Guo stressed that in the face of a disaster involving major loss of life and property, China rejects malicious speculation that lacks a factual basis.

The devastating disaster struck the Kerung–Rasuwa border area on August 26, causing extensive human and material losses on both sides of the border.

Chinese authorities have described the event as a powerful mudslide generated after a sudden collapse in a high-altitude glacial area in Nepal.

Following the disaster, China and Nepal have maintained coordination on search and rescue operations, information exchange and measures aimed at reducing the risk of secondary disasters.

China has also said it has provided Nepal with meteorological and hydrological information, satellite imagery of affected areas and early-warning information related to a barrier lake formed upstream.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said search, rescue and relief operations remain underway in the affected areas and that China has been releasing information related to the disaster in an open, transparent and timely manner.

Guo said humanitarian rescue, relief work and fact-based scientific assessment should remain the priority instead of spreading misinformation or politicizing the disaster.

China has also emphasized the importance of respecting decisions and rescue arrangements made by the Nepali government while avoiding unsupported conclusions about the causes and handling of the disaster.