Pu Weidong, executive deputy head of the regional public security department, said more than 60 forensic specialists and three laboratories had been mobilized to identify the victims.

　　Remains and personal belongings are being registered and documented, while fingerprints, genetic information and other identifying features are being collected and cross-checked with information provided by relatives. Pu said the work is being carried out scientifically, rigorously and carefully, with full respect for the dignity of the deceased and local customs.

　　Pu added that the authorities would regularly release information about the search, rescue and follow-up work. A 24-hour hotline has also been established to respond to families' concerns, with further updates to be released according to developments in the search and identification process.

　　Preventing secondary disasters remains the priority. More than 100 experts and technical personnel have been deployed, along with 150 sets of professional monitoring equipment to track slope deformation, water levels, weather conditions and other factors.

　　Deng Buchuan, deputy director of the special disaster rescue department of Xizang Fire and Rescue, said the team is searching through the mud layer by layer.

　　"I hope more people can be rescued and we will do as much as we can to the best of our ability," he said.

　　Su Pengcheng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, said experts have monitored barrier lakes, unstable slopes, glaciers and glacial lakes, while surveying geological hazards around five villages and along the emergency route.

　　He said a high-altitude ice-rock collapse on the Nepalese side of the Himalayas triggered the disaster. The resulting debris flow traveled about 22 kilometers downstream in only six to seven minutes, causing severe damage.