One Chinese National Rescued from Nepal Power Plant Where South Koreans Are Missing

[Financial News] A Chinese employee who had been buried in a tunnel at Nepal’s Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) Hydropower Project following massive flooding was rescued alive. A Nepalese woman in her 60s was also found in a buried house, bringing the number of people rescued over two days to four, following the rescue of two Nepalese power plant employees.
Raja Ram Basnet, a spokesperson for the Nepal Army, said on the 6th that "one Chinese national was rescued from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) Hydropower Project construction site" in Rasuwa, Bagmati Province, in north-central Nepal.
Earlier, a joint rescue team made up of the Nepal Army and South Korean disaster experts found Lu Haitao, a Chinese man, 225 meters inside the tunnel.
Photos and videos posted by the Nepal Army on Facebook showed Lu walking out of the tunnel with support from rescuers before being transported by helicopter. Lu appeared conscious and sat on the ground after his rescue, drinking bottled water given to him by the rescue team. The Nepal Army said, "We are currently checking his health condition and continuing additional search and rescue operations."
Rescuers also recovered six unidentified bodies at the power plant that day. One body of unknown nationality was reportedly found there as well.
According to the Nepal Disaster Management Authority, the death toll in Nepal had risen to 1,344 as of that day. Including at least 31 deaths in China’s Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region, the overall death toll stood at 1,375. The number of missing people totaled 5,531, including 5,000 in Nepal and 531 in China. As most of the bodies were severely damaged, making identification difficult, Nepal Police said that approximately 1,030 bodies had been temporarily buried so far.
Nepalese authorities said they had temporarily buried the bodies after collecting DNA samples, taking photographs, and recording identifying information. They plan to hand them over to the families once the identities are confirmed.
Meanwhile, the site where the Chinese national was rescued has been confirmed to be the power plant where nine missing South Koreans worked, raising hopes that the operation could eventually lead to the rescue of the South Koreans as well.
[email protected] Yoo Seon-jun Reporter