Rescuers in Nepal pull two people alive from the debris 10 days after devastating floods
Rescuers in Nepal pulled out a Chinese man and a woman in separate operations on Saturday, 10 days after devastating floods hit the country, as teams continued searching for thousands of missing people.
The man was rescued from a hydropower tunnel, according to a social media post by the country’s prime minister’s office, bringing the total to three workers pulled alive from the Trishuli hydropower project. Two Nepalese workers were rescued on Friday.
Chinese national is seen after being rescued by soldiers during an ongoing operation at the Trishuli-3A hydropower project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026 Nepal Army via AP
Nepal’s army said a joint rescue team of Nepalese military personnel and South Korean disaster experts rescued the man from a 225-metre tunnel and that he was undergoing a health assessment.
Images showed him being evacuated by helicopter, with an army medic checking on him during the flight.
A photo released by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed two rescuers carrying the man out of the tunnel.
CCTV shared audio of the man talking to an officer, saying how he repeatedly shouted whenever he saw the rescue crews’ lights, but they could not hear him.
“When they rescued me today, when they shone (the light) before my eyes, I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
The man was taken to a hospital and was in stable condition, according to CCTV.
The man said he repeatedly shouted whenever he saw the rescue crews’ lights, but they could not hear him. Nepal Army via AP
Rescue efforts have increasingly focused on 12 hydropower projects across Nepal, where about 900 workers are missing and roughly 500 are believed to be trapped in various tunnels, authorities said.
Specialised rescue teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States have been searching through debris, damaged structures and tunnels at the projects, hoping to find survivors.
In flood-hit Nuwakot town, a woman was rescued alive from a house, Nepal’s army spokesperson said on Saturday. Officials said she was airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment.
Images released by Nepal’s army showed rescuers finding the woman covered in mud inside the damaged house. They gave her bottled water before pulling her to safety, wrapped in a gray blanket.
At least 1300 people were killed in the August 26 floods, which were likely caused by a glacier collapse, and more than 5000 remain missing, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency.
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