Man rescued from Nepal tunnel as flood survivor count rises to three

A Chinese worker trapped inside a hydropower tunnel and a Nepalese woman buried in a damaged house were rescued alive on Saturday, 10 days after devastating floods struck Nepal.

Lu Haitao was pulled from a 225-metre tunnel at the Trishuli hydropower project by a joint team of Nepali military personnel and South Korean disaster experts. Nepal's prime minister's office announced the rescue on social media, bringing to three the number of workers found alive at the project. Two Nepalese workers were rescued on Friday.

Images showed Lu being carried from the tunnel and later evacuated by helicopter. An army medic examined him during the flight, while Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said he was taken to hospital in stable condition. Lu told an officer that he repeatedly shouted when he saw the lights of rescue crews, 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.

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When they rescued me today, when they shone [the light] before my eyes, I couldn't believe it.

Rescuers have increasingly focused on 12 hydropower projects, where authorities estimate about 900 workers are missing and roughly 500 may be trapped in tunnels. Specialist teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States are searching debris, damaged structures and underground passages.

In Nuwakot, army rescuers found Chandika Kumari Shrestha alive inside a damaged home. They gave her bottled water, wrapped her in a grey blanket and airlifted her to Kathmandu. Prime Minister Balendra Shah said her rescue "has given hope to the entire nation."

The floods, which authorities said were likely caused by a glacier collapse, killed at least 1,300 people on August 26. More than 5,000 remain missing. Nepal's provisional damage assessment counts more than 7,500 destroyed homes, 48 public buildings and about 100 bridges. The United Nations has appealed for $50 million to help more than 84,000 people affected by the disaster.

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has given hope to the entire nation