{"id":24538,"date":"2026-09-05T09:20:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T03:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=24538"},"modified":"2026-09-05T09:20:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T03:35:50","slug":"mud-darkness-and-the-search-for-the-missing-a-photojournalists-account-from-kyirong-disaster-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=24538","title":{"rendered":"Mud, Darkness and the Search for the Missing: A Photojournalist\u2019s Account from Kyirong Disaster Zone<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Xinhua<\/strong>
\nEnglish editing: Dragon Media News Desk<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Xinhua photojournalist reached the core disaster zone at Kyirong Port on the China-Nepal border by helicopter on August 31. The following is an edited account of what he witnessed at the scene, his conversations with rescuers and the night he spent alongside emergency teams.<\/p>\n

As dusk settled on August 31, our helicopter arrived at the destination. Hovering several metres above the ground, I jumped down, clutching my camera bag tightly against my chest. What appeared from above to be a vast, flat stretch of mud turned out to be much deeper than I had imagined.<\/p>\n

I had arrived at the heart of the disaster zone at Kyirong Port in southwest China\u2019s Xizang Autonomous Region, along the China-Nepal border. Five days had passed since a fast-moving chain mudslide, triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse in Nepal, struck the area on August 26. As of midday September 2, 21 people had been confirmed dead and 541 remained missing.<\/p>\n

I had come with a colleague. As a photojournalist, reaching the scene and documenting what was happening there was part of my professional responsibility.<\/p>\n

The moment my feet touched the ground, they sank deep into the mud. Both legs became trapped, while my upper body swayed before I managed to regain my balance.<\/p>\n

As the helicopter descended, the view through the window had suggested little more than a flat surface covered in mud. Only after landing did I understand how deep it really was.<\/p>\n

I tried to pull my legs free, but the mud seemed to pull back. It took considerable effort before I could move again.<\/p>\n

We were among the few journalists flown directly by helicopter into the core disaster zone. At the time, the overland route remained inaccessible because of severe damage caused by the mudslide. Excavators were working around the clock to clear and reopen the vital access road.<\/p>\n

The first group of 141 rescuers, along with a high-altitude helicopter, reached Kyirong on the morning of August 27. The following day, two professional rescue teams comprising 21 personnel and a search dog became the first specialist teams to reach the core rescue area near the border gate.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re reporters, right?\u201d a firefighter asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the last helicopter today. You\u2019re not going back tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d I replied. \u201cWe\u2019re reporters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking around, I realised I had lost count of how many times I had visited Kyirong.<\/p>\n

One earlier visit remains especially vivid in my memory. During that trip, I stayed at a small guesthouse run by local villagers in Jifu Village, halfway up a mountain near Kyirong Town.<\/p>\n

I woke the next morning to the sound of birds. Still half asleep, I looked out of the window and saw a sea of clouds stretching across the valley below. Nearby, people were talking and laughing. I could hear a Nepali staff member speaking Mandarin somewhat hesitantly.<\/p>\n

That was the Kyirong I remembered.<\/p>\n

Now, the landscape was almost unrecognisable.<\/p>\n

In the middle of the devastated area, a square concrete structure appeared to be one of the few things still clearly visible. It was a reservoir that had once supplied drinking water to port workers and local residents.<\/p>\n

On the lid of the former reservoir, covering several dozen square metres, firefighters who had been among the first to reach the disaster area had erected a small red tent. It was barely large enough to serve as a temporary camp for more than a dozen rescuers.<\/p>\n

My colleague and I took a shovel and dug out a relatively level patch of mud beside the firefighters\u2019 tent. It was just large enough for a one-person tent.<\/p>\n

That was where we would spend the night.<\/p>\n

Then we picked up our cameras and returned to work.<\/p>\n

Rescuers were spread across the disaster zone, digging through mud, turning over debris and checking possible locations for the missing. We interviewed and photographed several of them as they worked.<\/p>\n

As darkness deepened, exhausted rescuers gradually began returning to the camp. But near the foot of the mountain, one rescuer was still there, head bowed, moving slowly through the darkness as he continued searching.<\/p>\n

By 9 p.m., complete darkness had fallen. More rescuers returned to the camp. Some sat down and began scraping thick mud from their boots.<\/p>\n

When one Tibetan firefighter removed his socks, we saw that his feet had been immersed in muddy water for so long that the skin had turned pale and wrinkled.<\/p>\n

Heavy machinery continued to rumble throughout the night as crews cleared and repaired the road. In the distance, the lights of teams working to restore electricity and communications flickered continuously.<\/p>\n

The rescuers prepared to eat and invited us to join them. They had pan-fried buns and braised meat. Supplies had been delivered to rescue teams by drones.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our first meal today,\u201d an immigration police officer said.<\/p>\n

As we talked, they recalled what had happened the previous night.<\/p>\n

A huge boulder had fallen from the mountain into the Kyirong Zangbo River. First came a deep cracking sound. Then there was a tremendous crash as the rock plunged into the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe noise was enormous,\u201d one rescuer recalled. \u201cThe sound and the water thrown up when the rock hit the river frightened us so much that none of us dared to sleep that night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before we went to bed, another immigration police officer pointed toward a place near our tent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything happens, climb up this way immediately,\u201d he told us. \u201cGrab that metal railing over there.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was our emergency escape route.<\/p>\n

Our small patch of level ground had been carved out of the mud by hand. But heavy rain during the night turned the inside of our tent into a small pond.<\/p>\n

I woke suddenly in the middle of the night and found water everywhere. I shifted my body, tightened the opening of my sleeping bag around me and forced myself to go back to sleep.<\/p>\n

The next morning, when we got up, the rescuers were already preparing to head out again.<\/p>\n

We emptied the water from our tent and began packing our belongings. The clothes we had used as pillows the night before were completely soaked.<\/p>\n

Seeing this, a firefighter brought us a set of rescue clothing and urged us to put it on.<\/p>\n

I stepped outside and looked back toward Kyirong Town. Six or seven hundred metres away, excavators were already working.<\/p>\n

Another day had begun.<\/p>\n

In the heart of the disaster zone, rescuers once again searched areas they had already examined several times.<\/p>\n

There were firefighters in orange uniforms, immigration police in dark blue, disinfection workers wearing disease-control protective gear, and police officers carrying cameras and notebooks.<\/p>\n

At first, everyone had been searching for survivors.<\/p>\n

They called out again and again. They turned over debris, dug through the mud and searched every place where someone might possibly have survived.<\/p>\n

But as time passed, everyone slowly began confronting a painful reality that no one wanted to accept.<\/p>\n

At around 10 a.m., the rescuers stopped their work briefly and stood in silence to mourn those who had lost their lives in the disaster.<\/p>\n

Then they put their safety helmets back on and walked once again into the mud.<\/p>\n

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