New Delhi, August 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
China has allegedly removed videos showing the destruction caused by catastrophic flash floods and mudslides in Tibet following a glacial collapse on August 26, according to a report published by The Times of Israel.
The report said the glacier collapse triggered a massive surge of mud, rock and water through the Lhende Khola and into the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems, causing widespread destruction along the Nepal-Tibet frontier.
According to figures cited in the report, Nepal had recorded 579 deaths and 1,924 people missing by August 28, while Chinese authorities had officially reported five deaths and 558 missing people in Tibet’s Gyirong County, including 260 foreign nationals. Ten bodies had also reportedly been recovered from rivers in northern India.
By Sunday, the report said, the combined death toll in Nepal and Tibet had reached 750, with more than 3,000 people missing. Nepal alone accounted for 734 deaths and 2,498 missing people.
A key focus of the report was the alleged removal of citizen-recorded footage from Chinese social media platforms. Videos reportedly began circulating within hours of the floods, including security-camera footage showing a large wall of mud and debris sweeping across buildings at Gyirong Port as people fled. The report said international media subsequently verified the location and footage.
The report cited a Bhutanese journalist who highlighted the alleged removal of disaster footage from Chinese platforms, stressing that the videos depicted the consequences of a natural disaster rather than political protests or anti-government activity.
According to the report, footage from the Chinese side was being deleted while material from affected areas in Nepal remained widely accessible. What remained on Chinese platforms was described as being largely focused on official accounts of rescue operations, government statements and President Xi Jinping’s instructions, with comparatively limited visual evidence of the destruction.
The report contrasted this with Nepal, where journalists could access affected areas, speak with survivors and publish photographs and videos documenting the devastation. It also cited restrictions on foreign access to Tibet, particularly sensitive border regions, as a factor limiting independent assessment of the destruction there.
The report also examined questions surrounding the cause of the disaster. Initial accounts suggested that an earthquake might have triggered the collapse. However, it said the US Geological Survey initially recorded a magnitude-4.4 seismic event before determining that the signal had been generated by the landslide itself rather than an earthquake.
Satellite imagery reportedly showed a massive collapse of glacier and bedrock followed by an ice-and-rock avalanche that temporarily blocked the river before the resulting natural dam broke.
The report also referred to questions raised in Nepal about explosive devices reportedly washed downstream from the Tibetan side and whether blasting associated with construction or tunnelling could have contributed to destabilising the terrain. It said restricted access to the Tibetan side made independent investigation of such questions difficult.
The river system involved extends beyond Tibet, with the Lhende Khola feeding the Bhote Koshi, which flows into Nepal’s Trishuli before eventually becoming the Gandak in India.
The report argued that independent journalists, scientists and experts should be allowed to assess the affected terrain and compare satellite imagery, eyewitness accounts and official statements. It said the alleged combination of restricted access, disappearing footage and reliance on official narratives could create an information gap about the disaster.
It further argued that the issue went beyond individual videos allegedly being removed from platforms such as Weibo or Douyin, raising broader questions about preservation of the historical record of a disaster whose effects have crossed borders into Nepal and India.
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