Two Survivors Rescued in Nepal 10 Days After Devastating Floods

Rescue teams in Nepal have pulled two additional survivors from the debris 10 days after catastrophic flash floods struck the Nepal-Tibet region. The separate operations on Saturday brought a Chinese national out of a submerged hydropower tunnel and saved a woman trapped inside a damaged house in Nuwakot.

A Chinese national named Lu Haitao was rescued from a 225-metre tunnel at the Trishuli hydropower project by a joint team comprising Nepali military personnel and South Korean disaster experts. Lu is the third worker saved alive from the site, following the rescue of two Nepalese workers on Friday. Audio broadcast by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV revealed Lu tried calling out whenever he saw search lights, though crews initially could not hear him. He was airlifted to a hospital and is currently reported to be in stable condition.

WIDESPREAD SEARCH AND CASUALTY TOLL

In Nuwakot, emergency responders rescued Chandika Kumari Shrestha after finding her covered in mud inside a ruined residential structure. Rescuers provided her with bottled water before airlifting her to Kathmandu for medical care. Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah remarked that her rescue offered hope to the nation amid the ongoing crisis.

Search efforts are focusing heavily on 12 hydropower projects where approximately 900 workers are missing and around 500 remain trapped inside tunnels. International teams from India, China, South Korea, and the United States are assisting local forces in clearing debris and searching damaged infrastructure.

The disaster management agency reports that the August 26 floods, likely caused by a glacier collapse, killed at least 1,300 people, while more than 5,000 remain missing. Provisional government figures show the destruction of over 7,500 houses, 48 public buildings, and roughly 100 bridges. Nepal Police noted that approximately 1,030 bodies have been buried in mass graves after DNA sampling due to overflowing morgues. Meanwhile, the United Nations has launched a $50 million emergency appeal to assist over 84,000 affected people across the country.