The Chinese national, identified as Lu Haitao, was brought out from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Rasuwa district by a joint rescue team involving Nepal’s army and South Korean disaster specialists. He was evacuated by helicopter for medical treatment after being found with mild hypothermia and no visible injuries, according to officials.
Hours later, rescuers found a 64-year-old woman, Chandika Kumari Shrestha, alive inside her damaged home in Nuwakot district. Images released by Nepal’s army showed her partly submerged in thick mud before emergency workers pulled her free and airlifted her to Kathmandu for treatment.
The two rescues added to hopes that more people may still be alive beneath debris or inside blocked tunnels, although specialists have warned that survival chances diminish sharply as time passes. Two Nepali workers were pulled alive from another tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-3A hydropower project on Friday, making Lu the third worker rescued from the Trishuli tunnel system over two days.
Search operations remain concentrated around 12 hydropower projects where about 900 workers are missing and roughly 500 are believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to authorities. Rescue personnel from Nepal have been joined by specialist teams from China, India, South Korea and the United States, using helicopters, tunnelling equipment and temporary crossings to reach isolated areas.
The disaster began on August 26 after a glacier and rock collapse triggered a violent flash flood near the Nepal-Tibet border, sending water, mud and debris through settlements, construction sites and power projects. Nepal’s disaster management authorities say at least 1,344 people have been killed and 4,887 remain missing in the country, including hundreds of foreign nationals.
The flooding also caused casualties across the border in Tibet, where Chinese authorities have reported 31 deaths and more than 500 people missing. The scale of destruction on both sides has complicated efforts to establish a complete toll, while damaged roads, unstable slopes and swollen rivers have slowed access to remote communities.
More than 40 bridges in Nepal were destroyed or rendered unusable, cutting off villages and forcing rescuers to rely heavily on helicopters and improvised crossings. Officials have also said thousands of homes were damaged or swept away, creating a parallel challenge of sheltering displaced families while search teams continue recovery operations.
At the Upper Trishuli sites, rescuers have focused on reaching workers believed to have taken refuge deeper inside tunnels when the flood struck. Survivors have given accounts suggesting that some trapped workers may have remained together after floodwater and debris sealed exits, prompting teams to continue drilling and clearing blocked passages despite the length of time since the disaster.
Families of missing workers have gathered near rescue zones seeking information, while authorities have begun DNA collection to help identify victims recovered from heavily damaged areas. Officials have cautioned that the number of missing could change as communications are restored and duplicate reports are reconciled.
More than 9,300 army personnel have been deployed across affected districts, supporting searches, medical care, road clearance and body recovery. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority has estimated that about 7,500 homes were completely destroyed and roughly 20,000 may need to be rebuilt, many in safer locations because original settlements remain vulnerable to further landslides and flooding.
Humanitarian agencies are also trying to restore basic services in communities cut off by the disaster. Thousands of displaced residents need shelter, clean water and sanitation, while schools in some areas have been destroyed or cannot be used. Authorities have been identifying temporary buildings for classes as rescue operations continue through Saturday in the hardest-hit valleys.
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