A Chinese man was rescued by a joint Nepal-Korea rescue team from a hydroelectric power plant tunnel on the 5th (local time), 10 days after a major flood swept through the Himalayan mountainous region on the border between Nepal and China.
On this day, a Nepalese woman in her 60s was also discovered in a buried house, and four people were rescued in two days, following two Nepalese power plant employees the day before.
In particular, the location where the Chinese people were rescued on this day was confirmed to be the power plant where the nine missing Koreans worked, drawing more attention to future rescue operations.
Nepalese Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said on this day that a Chinese national was rescued from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli (UT)-1 hydroelectric power plant construction site in Rasuwa district, Bagmati province, in the north-central region.
The military reported that a joint rescue team consisting of the Nepalese military and Korean disaster experts found Chinese man Lu Haitao at 225 meters inside the tunnel.
In relation to this, the Korea Overseas Emergency Relief Service (KDRT) also announced that it rescued one Chinese survivor from a tunnel near Weir Dam, the upper dam of the power plant.
This is the 9th survivor rescued since the establishment of KDRT in 2007. KDRT rescued eight people during the 2023 Turkiye earthquake.
Photos and videos posted by the Nepalese military on Facebook showed Mr. Lu being supported by rescuers, walking out of the tunnel, and then being transported by helicopter.
Mr. Lu appeared to be conscious, and immediately after being rescued, he sat on the ground and drank bottled water given by the rescue team.
The military said, "We are currently checking his health and continuing additional search and rescue operations."
The rescue team also recovered six unidentified bodies from the power plant that day. KDRT also announced that a body of unknown nationality was found here on this day.
The Nepalese military also announced that they had rescued Chandrika Shrestha (64, female) from the second floor of a four-story house buried in thick mud and soil in the Nuwakot area of Bagmati Province and were transporting her to the capital Kathmandu by helicopter.
A video released by the Nepalese military showed Shrestha being found on thick mud inside a small space in the house.
Rescue workers rescued Mr. Shrestha through a narrow gap, and as he gradually regained consciousness, they gave him bottled water, wrapped him in a blanket to protect him, and transported him.
Authorities have not yet mentioned how he survived being trapped in the house for so long or whether he had access to water or food.
The day before, the Nepalese rescue team rescued Nepalese employees Sanjay Sa (30) and Kabir Maharjan (45) from the Trishuli 3A hydroelectric power plant tunnel.
These survivors were transported to a military hospital and are staying in the intensive care unit, but their pulse, breathing, and body temperature are known to be stable.
The Associated Press reported that Nepalese authorities estimate that about 500 of the approximately 900 missing employees from 12 hydroelectric power plants are trapped in various tunnels and have focused their search capabilities on these sites.
According to the Nepal Disaster Management Agency, the number of deaths in Nepal increased to 1,344 as of today.
The total number of deaths, including at least 31 deaths in China's Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region, is 1,375.
The missing people totaled 5,531, including 5,000 in Nepal and 531 in China.
While most of the bodies of the deceased were seriously damaged, making identification difficult, Nepalese police announced today that about 1,030 bodies have been provisionally buried so far.
Authorities plan to temporarily bury these bodies through procedures such as collecting DNA samples, taking photos, and recording identification information, and then hand them over to the bereaved families once their identities are determined.
