DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇷 South Korea /Disasters & Emergencies

Four Rescued in Nepal in Two Days, Keeping Hope Alive for More Survivors

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Rescue teams found four survivors in Nepal between Sept. 4 and 5, nearly 10 days after a major disaster involving landslides and floods.
  • A Chinese worker rescued from a collapsed tunnel near the site where nine South Korean workers lost contact said another person might be nearby.
  • Nepalese and South Korean rescuers continued searching, despite difficult mountain access, heavy debris and shortages of personnel and equipment.

Four people have emerged alive in Nepal within two days, reviving hopes that others may still be trapped beneath mud and rubble nearly 10 days after the disaster.

A Chinese worker, Lu Haitao, was found on Sept. 5 inside a collapsed tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 1 hydropower plant. The tunnel lies near the site where nine South Korean workers lost contact. Covered in mud and dust, Lu left the tunnel with help from rescuers and was flown to safety. He showed signs of hypothermia but no visible external injuries, and received emergency treatment in the helicopter.

I saw the lights of the rescuers and shouted again, but it seemed they could not hear me. When a rescuer came to me and shone a light, I could not believe it.

· Lu HaitaoThe Chinese worker described his rescue from the collapsed hydropower tunnel.

A voice recording released by China Central Television captured Lu describing the moment he saw the rescue team. “I saw the lights of the rescuers and shouted again, but it seemed they could not hear me. When a rescuer came to me and shone a light, I could not believe it,” he said. The Nepal Army and the Korea Disaster Relief Team reached him about 225 meters inside the mud-filled tunnel after crawling through the debris. South Korean rescuers said Lu reported that “there was one more person nearby,” although he did not know whether that person was alive.

There was one more person nearby.

· Lu HaitaoHis reported statement prompted hopes that another person might remain trapped in the tunnel.

Another rescue took place in the Nuwakot area, where a 64-year-old woman, Chandika Shrestha, was found unconscious beneath the mud and debris on the second floor of a collapsed four-story house. She was taken to a hospital in Kathmandu. Relatives had nearly abandoned hope and held a funeral after the eighth day, according to the Kathmandu Post. Shrestha had disappeared with four family members on the day of the disaster and was the only one reported to have survived.

Two Nepalese hydropower workers, Sanjay Saha and Kabir Maharjan, were rescued from a Trishuli 3A power station tunnel on Sept. 4. Survivors from the tunnels have also raised the possibility that more people remain alive. Rescuers continue to work in remote mountain areas buried under mud and boulders. Nepal Army volunteer Manish Maharjan told AP, “The tunnel was full of mud like toothpaste in a toothpaste tube.”

The tunnel was full of mud like toothpaste in a toothpaste tube.

· Manish MaharjanThe Nepal Army volunteer described the conditions facing rescuers inside the tunnel.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog