Rescuers in Nepal Find Two More People Alive After Flood Disaster

Two more people have been found alive in Nepal’s flood disaster, including a Chinese man rescued from a 225-metre tunnel and a 64-year-old Nepali woman pulled from a house buried in mud.

A joint team of Nepali soldiers and South Korean disaster experts rescued the man from the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project. He was carried out of the tunnel and evacuated by helicopter for a health assessment.

In the devastated town of Nuwakot, rescuers discovered the Nepali woman submerged in mud inside a damaged house. They pulled her to safety and airlifted her to Kathmandu for treatment. Police officers cheered as she emerged from the home, whose lower half had been buried in thick sludge.

International teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States are searching across about a dozen hydropower projects. Around 900 workers are missing at the sites, and about 500 are thought to be trapped inside large tunnels. Two Nepali workers were rescued from another tunnel on the Trishuli River on Friday.

The rescue effort is becoming more difficult as time passes. Experts say the chances of finding people alive inside the tunnels are diminishing. Flood damage has also complicated operations, with more than 40 bridges destroyed and rivers swelling unpredictably.

The floods followed a glacial and rock collapse on Aug. 26. Nepal’s disaster management agency says at least 1,375 people have been killed and more than 5,000 remain missing.