In Nepal, rescuers successfully extracted a Chinese man and a woman in separate operations 10 days after severe floods struck the nation, while search teams continue efforts to locate thousands of missing individuals.
The Chinese man was rescued from a hydropower tunnel, making him the third worker to be rescued alive from the Trishuli hydropower project. A joint rescue team involving Nepalese military personnel and South Korean disaster experts conducted the operation, successfully extracting the man from a 225-meter tunnel. Following the rescue, the man underwent a health assessment and was evacuated by helicopter with an army medic monitoring his condition.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV released a photo showing the man being carried out of the tunnel by rescuers. The man expressed disbelief upon being rescued, mentioning how he had called out for help whenever he saw the rescue crews’ lights but was not heard until that day.
The man was transported to a hospital and is reported to be in stable condition. Rescue operations have been concentrated on 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, with approximately 900 workers missing and an estimated 500 believed to be trapped in various tunnels. Specialized rescue teams from India, China, South Korea, and the United States have been combing through debris, damaged structures, and tunnels at these projects in search of survivors.
In Nuwakot town, a woman was also rescued from a house that had been affected by the floods. She was airlifted to Kathmandu for medical treatment. Images released by Nepal’s army depicted the rescue efforts, showing the woman covered in mud inside the damaged house before being brought to safety and provided with water.
The devastating floods on August 26, suspected to be triggered by a glacier collapse, claimed the lives of at least 1,300 people. More than 5,000 individuals are still unaccounted for, as reported by Nepal’s disaster management agency.