Family of Chinese survivor Lu Haitao calls his rescue "pure luck amid misfortune"

For Lu Haitao's family, the news that he had survived 10 days trapped inside a Nepalese hydropower tunnel felt like "pure luck amid misfortune."

Lu, 49, a farmer from China's central Henan province, was found on Sept. 5 inside the Upper Trishuli 1 hydropower project. Nepalese soldiers and the Korea Disaster Relief Team located him at about 1:15 p.m., 225 meters inside the tunnel.

His younger sister, Lu Hailong, said she could not believe the rescue until she saw video of her brother through Chinese state media. She had been unable to eat or sleep while grieving his disappearance. "The day has finally come. If you don't give up, there is hope," she said through tears.

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Pure luck amid misfortune.

The family received a call from authorities confirming Lu's identity before the rescue became public, but they said the photograph in news reports finally convinced them he was alive. Lu had traveled to Nepal in February with a fellow villager to find work. It was his first job abroad, and he had never worked at a hydropower construction site, although he had done carpentry as a side job.

Lu had not told his family the exact location of his work. After the disaster, relatives relied on updates from a support group for families of missing people. His cousin said the family learned he was missing on the sixth day after the flooding and searched Nepalese news every day with a translation application.

When rescuers found him, Lu was conscious, able to speak and stable enough to walk with their support. He received emergency treatment in a helicopter before being taken to a hospital in Kathmandu. The tunnel was also the site where nine South Korean workers lost contact. Lu told rescuers that another person might be nearby, though he could not confirm whether that person was alive.

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The day has finally come. If you don't give up, there is hope.