Chinese national rescued from Nepal tunnel 10 days after deadly floods

A Chinese national was rescued alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal on Saturday, 10 days after catastrophic floods and landslides swept through the Himalayan region, while a 64-year-old Nepali woman was also found alive inside a buried house.

The Chinese worker, identified as Lu Haitao, was pulled from a 225-metre tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project in Rasuwa district, the Nepali Army said. He was the third person rescued alive from hydropower tunnels since the disaster struck on August 26.

Lu was suffering from mild hypothermia and was airlifted to an army hospital in stable condition, according to Reuters. The tunnel was among several hydropower facilities where hundreds of workers were believed to have been trapped after a wall of ice, rock and mud swept through the area.

The rescue came a day after two Nepali workers, Kabir Maharjan and Sanjay Sah, were pulled alive from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower station after spending nine days underground. Their survival raised hopes that others could still be found.

Separately, rescuers found a 64-year-old woman, identified by Nepali media as Chandika Shrestha, alive on the upper floor of a four-storey house in Betravati, Nuwakot district. She had been trapped after the building was buried by mud and debris.

The woman was found after rescue teams reached the partially buried house and was later taken for medical treatment, with plans to airlift her to Kathmandu.

The disaster began on August 26 after a major collapse of ice, rock and debris triggered devastating flooding along the Trishuli and Bhotekoshi river corridors near the Nepal-China border. More than 1,300 people have been killed, while thousands remain missing across Nepal and Tibet.

Authorities believe around 900 people may have been trapped inside tunnels linked to hydropower projects in the affected area. Rescue teams, supported by specialists from several countries, continue to search the damaged facilities for survivors.