By: Nana Karikari, Senior Global Affairs Correspondent
Ten days after catastrophic flash floods swept across the border region, search teams have pulled survivors from the wreckage. Rescuers in Nepal extracted a Chinese national alive from a hydropower tunnel on Saturday. The Nepali army identified the survivor as Lu Haitao. “A joint rescue team comprising the Nepali Army and foreign rescuers has rescued a Chinese national, Lu Haitao, alive from inside a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project,” the army stated following the operation. “Lu Haitao was rescued from a point approximately 225 meters inside the tunnel. His health is currently being assessed, while search and rescue operations are continuing.”
Separate operations yielded additional results in neighboring districts. A woman was rescued from a building ten days after floods struck the region, according to the Nepal armed police force. The 60-year-old victim had been trapped on the upper floor of a four-storey structure in the Nuwakot district. Officials airlifted her to Kathmandu while relief personnel wrapped her in a gray blanket. These recoveries followed the extraction of two Nepalese workers from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A plant.
Human Toll and Scale of Devastation
The disaster began when a massive glacier collapse triggered sudden, violent torrents down mountain gorges. The death toll in last week’s catastrophic flash floods on the Nepal-China border has risen to 1,375, according to authorities in both countries. Communities remain shattered as emergency crews comb through thick layers of mud, rock, and debris. Roughly 900 workers remain missing from twelve separate hydropower sites across Nepal. Authorities report that approximately 500 of those missing individuals are believed trapped inside subterranean tunnels.
International Aid and Global Response
The international community has mobilized resources to support local recovery efforts. The United Nations and humanitarian partners launched a $49.6 million emergency appeal yesterday to provide life-saving assistance to people in Nepal affected by the disaster. Foreign disaster experts, including specialized teams from South Korea, continue working alongside the Nepali military to navigate unstable underground passages and locate missing citizens. Governments across the region coordinate relief distribution as thousands remain displaced and vulnerable infrastructure awaits major reconstruction. As emergency teams press forward through treacherous conditions, international monitors emphasize that sustained long-term cooperation will remain vital to stabilizing the vulnerable Himalayan river basins and safeguarding communities against future environmental threats.
