05.09.2026 16:20
Ten days after the flood disaster that struck the Nepal-China border and reportedly killed 1,375 people, came heartening news about two individuals. Chandika Shrestha, a 60-year-old Nepali man who had begun funeral preparations believing his family had died, was found alive. Additionally, Chinese worker Lu Haitao was rescued from the tunnel of a hydroelectric power plant. Search efforts continue for more than 5,000 people in the region.
Two more people were rescued 10 days after the flood disaster that occurred on the Nepal-China border last week and caused the deaths of thousands of people. It was reported that one of those rescued was a Chinese citizen worker stranded in the tunnel of a hydroelectric power plant, and the other was a 60-year-old Nepali woman whose family had begun funeral preparations.
TWO MORE PEOPLE REACHED
Search and rescue teams in Nepal are continuing their efforts following the severe floods and landslides that struck the regions bordering China. Despite 10 days having passed since the disaster, teams reached two more people. Chinese citizen Lu Haitao was pulled alive from the tunnel of one of the hydroelectric power plants on the Trishuli River. Nepal's Prime Minister's Office announced that Haitao was rescued through the joint efforts of the Nepali army and a rescue team from South Korea. It was stated that expert teams from India and China also joined the operations in the region.
"I SHOUTED EVERY TIME I SAW THE LIGHTS"
In a statement to Chinese state television CCTV after his rescue, Haitao described shouting for help every time he saw the lights of the rescue teams in the tunnel. Haitao said, "I shouted every time I saw the lights, really very loudly."
FUNERAL PREPARATIONS HAD BEGUN
In Nepal's Nuwakot district, 60-year-old Chandika Shrestha was found alive on the upper floor of a four-story building. A local official said that her family, who had not heard from Shrestha for days, thought she had died and had begun funeral preparations. Shrestha was evacuated from the area by the Nepali army.
900 POWER PLANT WORKERS STILL MISSING
Rescue efforts were particularly intensified in the tunnels of hydroelectric power plants, where hundreds of workers were feared trapped. According to data shared by the Nepali army on Thursday, approximately 900 hydroelectric power plant workers remain listed as missing, with about two-thirds of them reported to have been working at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydroelectric Project.
A day earlier, two people trapped in the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A Hydroelectric Power Plant had been rescued alive nine days after the disaster. Thus, in the last 48 hours, three workers were pulled out alive from hydroelectric tunnels. Officials from Nepal Electricity Authority reported that search and rescue operations in the tunnels would continue for several more days.
According to CNN's calculation based on data from Nepali and Chinese authorities, the death toll from the flood disaster affecting both countries has risen to 1,375, while more than 5,000 people remain missing.