At least three people have been killed and 558 others, including 260 foreign nationals, remain missing after a massive landslide struck China's Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region near the Nepal border, authorities said, as rescue teams race against time to search for survivors.

The landslide hit the Gyirong Port area on Wednesday morning, burying parts of the key border crossing linking China and Nepal. Chinese authorities said two people have been rescued so far, while large-scale search and rescue operations remain underway.

Emergency responders, including fire and rescue teams deployed from Beijing and Chengdu, are using drones and heavy equipment to search for survivors in difficult terrain. Authorities have also evacuated nearby villages because of fears that an upstream landslide-dammed lake could burst, creating a secondary flood risk.

The disaster followed the collapse of part of a Himalayan glacier, which triggered a powerful debris flow and flash flood that swept through the Gyirong border area and neighboring Nepal. Scientists say satellite imagery indicates a mixture of ice, mud and rock rushed into the valley, devastating roads, bridges and settlements.

The landslide is part of a wider cross-border disaster that has caused hundreds of deaths and left more than 1,300 people missing across China and Nepal. Many of those unaccounted for are foreign tourists, trekkers and Hindu pilgrims traveling to Mount Kailash via the Gyirong crossing.

Rescue efforts continue as authorities warn that unstable slopes, persistent rainfall and the growing upstream barrier lake could further complicate operations in the coming days. (ILKHA)