Tibet landslide dams river, raises alarm

BEIJING — Chinese emergency services said Thursday that about 6,000 people were evacuated after a landslide in Tibet blocked the flow of one of the region’s key rivers, creating a lake that could endanger downstream areas in India.

The collapse Wednesday morning of a cliff in the deep valley through which the river flows created a damlike barrier on the Yarlung Tsangpo, the headwater of India’s Brahmaputra River, the local emergency response bureau said in a report carried by state media.

The landslide struck near a village in Menling County, and water in the lake had risen to a height of 130 feet by Thursday, the bureau said.

No deaths or injuries were reported, and the bureau said China has been keeping India updated on the blockage.

Authorities in northeastern India issued an alert warning villagers in the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, the state bordering China’s Tibet region, not to venture near the river.

District magistrate Tamiyo Tatak said water levels in the river had fallen drastically and once the blockage was cleared in China, water might suddenly rush downstream, causing a disaster in India.

In June 2000, a sudden high discharge of water from the Yarlung Tsangbo caused extensive damage in Arunachal Pradesh and other downstream areas in India.