Photo courtesy of Anadolu
Rescuers found two people alive Saturday, 10 days after catastrophic floods and mudslides swept through areas along the Nepal-China border, as search operations continued for thousands still missing.
A Chinese man identified as Luhaitao was discovered about 225 meters inside a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project, according to the Kathmandu Post. A team involving the Nepali military and foreign rescuers brought him out and sent him for medical examination.
Search crews continued working at the hydropower facility, where other people were believed to remain trapped. Two survivors had also been recovered Friday from the nearby Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project.
At least six hydropower facilities on the Nepali side were affected by the disaster, with around 900 personnel assigned to the projects still being sought.
In a separate rescue Saturday, an Armed Police Force team recovered 64-year-old Chandika Kumari Shrestha from a debris-covered house in Bidur Municipality-10. She was found unconscious and taken to the Nepali Army’s Maithili Barracks in Trishuli for treatment.
The disaster began Aug. 26 after a glacier fractured on Mount Langtang Lirung at an elevation of roughly 5,200 meters. The collapse sent ice and rock downhill before developing into a destructive debris flow.
Flooding and mudslides subsequently struck Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Kavre districts and parts of the Kathmandu Valley. Across the border, debris also buried the Gyirong crossing in China’s Xizang Autonomous Region.
Official figures Saturday placed the overall death toll at 1,375, with another 5,531 people still missing. Search and recovery operations remained underway 10 days after the disaster.
