Nepal floods: Woman, Chinese worker rescued after being trapped for 10 days

Two people, including a 60-year-old woman and a Chinese worker, were rescued respectively from a damaged four-storey house in Betrawati, in Nepal’s Nuwakot and from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project after remaining trapped for 10 days.

According to a Kathmandu Post report on Saturday (September 5), the woman, identified as Chandika Shrestha, was found unconscious and rescued from the house in Bidur Municipality-10.

She was then transported to the Nepali Army's Maithili Barracks in Trishuli in a helicopter for initial treatment, from where she would later be shifted to Kathmandu for further treatment if necessary, the Nepal PM’s office was quoted as saying in the report.

Chinese worker rescued from tunnel

As for the Chinese national, rescue workers pulled him out alive from a tunnel linked to a hydropower project.

Images released by the Nepali Army showed the rescued man being airlifted by helicopter, with a military medic attending to him during the flight. Identified only as Luhaitao, he was seen being helped out by two rescuers in camouflage, with his arms placed around their shoulders.

Also Read: ‘Nepal valley flooded twice in 14 months’: Expert lams ‘sheer madness’ of Himalayan development

He looked exhausted but remained alert, while thick mud could still be seen covering his hands.

The rescue was the third successful operation at the Trishuli hydropower site after two Nepali workers were pulled out alive from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant on Friday (September 4).

Earlier rescue at hydropower site

The Nepal Army said that its personnel worked with disaster response specialists from South Korea in the operation. The worker was found inside a 225-metre-long tunnel and was later taken for medical evaluation, reported NDTV.

Also Read: Nepal flash floods death toll rises to 1,344, nearly 4,900 still missing

The rescue came on the 11th day since the Bhotekoshi flood, which caused widespread destruction and left 1,344 people dead and around 49,00 missing.

Floods devastate northern Nepal

The flash floods followed an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26. Several towns and villages in northern and central Nepal were devastated by the floods.

Floodwaters from the Bhotekoshi River, which flows south from the Himalayan border region, swept downstream and destroyed homes, vehicles, roads and bridges. Several hydropower projects were also damaged.

(With agency inputs)