GYIRONG, Aug 30 - Three Malaysians are among 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries identified as unaccounted for following a mudslide that struck Gyirong Port along the China-Nepal border in southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region on Wednesday (August 26), local authorities said today.
Xinhua reported that the regional government’s information office announced the latest figure during a media conference after foreign affairs, public security, culture and tourism, and emergency management authorities jointly searched and cross-checked information.
The 261 foreign nationals include 104 from Nepal, 49 from India, 33 from Latvia, 18 from the United States, 15 from the United Kingdom, six each from Canada and Australia, four from South Africa, and three each from Malaysia, Germany, and Russia.
Others unaccounted for include two each from Ireland, Estonia, France, the Netherlands and New Zealand, and one each from Kazakhstan, Finland, Lithuania, Portugal, Ukraine, Spain, and Hungary.
The Chinese authorities have notified the countries' embassies and consulates in China.
After multiple rounds of searches, site inspections, and checks of individuals at the port, authorities said no foreign tourists are currently stranded in Gyirong County.
China has also opened two 24-hour English-language hotlines for the families of the unaccounted-for foreign nationals: 0086-891-6817165 and 0086-18308026705.
