Today's developments
• Dramatic rescue: Two more people were rescued in Nepal, 10 days after devastating flash floods on the border with China. A Chinese man was pulled alive from a tunnel at a hydropower plant and a 60-year-old woman was rescued from the upper floor of a four-story building.
• Second in as many days: It came one day after two men were dramatically pulled alive from another hydropower tunnel in Nepal. Rescuers had to use satellite pictures to find the tunnel below the mud. Hundreds of tunnel workers remain missing following the disaster.
• Death toll climbs: The number of people killed in last week’s catastrophic flash floods has risen to more than 1,350, according to a CNN tally of figures published by Nepali and Chinese authorities.
We’ve wrapped up our live coverage for the day. You can read more about the dramatic rescue efforts here, or scroll through the updates below for more on the situation in Nepal and China.
More than 1,350 dead and 5,000 missing: The Nepal-China flooding in numbers
We’ve been reporting today on the dramatic rescue of two people in Nepal, 13 kilometers apart, following the recovery yesterday of two tunnel workers.
The news comes 10 days after catastrophic flooding hit the country’s border with China, killing at least 1,362 people, according to a CNN tally of official reports from both countries.
More than 5,000 people remain missing, authorities say, and the complexity of search and recovery efforts means it will take time for officials to determine the full scope of the disaster.
Here’s a look at the flooding’s impact in numbers:
Nepal
- At least 1,331 people have died in Nepal, according to the latest update from the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).
- Approximately 4,996 people are still missing in Nepal, the NDRRMA said.
- Some 589 foreign nationals are among the missing, according to the agency.
- A total of 13,101 people, including 304 foreigners, have been rescued from the flooding, according to the NDRRMA.
- Approximately 75 Americans were still unaccounted for as of Wednesday, a US State Department spokesperson said.
China
- At least 31 people have been killed in the autonomous region of Tibet, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
- Another 531 people in the region are unaccounted for, Xinhua reported yesterday.
- During a press conference last Sunday, authorities said that at least 261 foreigners from 23 countries were among the missing.
- Of those missing, 104 were from Nepal, 49 from India, 33 were from Latvia, 18 from the United States, and 15 from the United Kingdom, Chinese authorities said.
This post has been updated with new figures published by the Nepali disaster agency on Saturday.
CNN’s Bhadra Sharma, Kathleen Magramo and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this reporting.
Woman rescued today in Nepal will undergo leg operation, relative says
Chandika Shrestha, the 63-year-old woman who was rescued from a four-story building in the Nepali district of Nuwakot this morning, will soon be undergoing a leg operation, a relative told CNN.
Shrestha has sustained a deep injury to her right leg, according to army spokesperson Rajaram Basnet.
“Preparations are underway for her leg operation,” Ramesh Man Shrestha, a relative of Chandika, told CNN.
The rescued woman’s son, Aashish, rushed to his mother’s side at a hospital soon after reports emerged that she had been rescued.
Following the catastrophic flooding in Nepal last week, Aashish traveled from the Nepali capital of Kathmandu to his hometown twice in hopes of finding his parents alive.
Unable to find them, Aashish had already begun ceremonial rites at his house in Kathmandu when he heard the news that his mother had been rescued.
Sister of survivor pulled from tunnel in Nepal tells CNN of her relief
“I’m so excited — I’ve been waiting for this moment,” Lu Hairong, the sister of survivor Lu Haitao, told CNN when she discovered her brother had been found after seeing images and videos online.
The 49-year-old Chinese national was pulled alive from inside a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project, according to the Nepali Army.
A team of South Korean rescue workers helped the armed forces retrieve him, Nepal’s Prime Minister’s Office said.
Lu Hairong said she had not paid much attention to the news of the glacier collapse on the Nepal-China border, which led to flash floods last Wednesday, and could not remember exactly when she learned that her brother was missing.
“(The whole family) feels relieved now. I’m in a better mood, so I’ll go back to work tomorrow,” Lu Hairong added.
Lu Haitao went to Nepal for work in February this year, according to Chinese state media. His sister said he is from central China’s Henan province and has a son in his 20s.
Nepali authorities seek DNA samples from relatives of missing hydropower workers
Nepali authorities are seeking DNA samples from close relatives of missing hydropower workers to help identify any further recovered remains.
Three surviving hydropower workers have been found over the past two days, but the fate of hundreds more remains uncertain.
The Nepal Electricity Authority, which oversees the country’s power grid and some of its power stations, issued a public notice today, requesting the closest relatives of missing workers provide the police with any samples.
The state-owned power utility added that rescue operations are ongoing at the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, and released details of 147 missing employees who have not been in contact since the flood.
Meanwhile, brother of missing hydropower worker endures agonizing wait for news
While the dramatic rescues of three workers trapped in hydropower tunnels in Nepal these past two days have offered some hope, hundreds of families are still anxiously waiting for any news of their loved ones caught up in last week’s flash floods.
Eight days ago, Krishna Poudel added a missing poster of his younger brother Ishwor, a 26-year-old hydropower worker, to a board with scores of other such posters. But he has still heard nothing about his brother’s fate.
“By 11:30 a.m., the floods came down, and I kept trying to call my brother. I finally got through and he said ‘I’m trapped inside the tunnel.”
You can see more in the video above.
Nearly 33,000 people affected by homes damaged in Nepal floods, officials say
More than 7,500 homes across Nepal have been affected by the catastrophic flooding in the country, impacting nearly 33,000 people, the Nepali Foreign Ministry said in an update today.
Around 55 kilometers (roughly 34 miles) of road, 37 bridges used by vehicles, and 68 suspension bridges have also been damaged, the ministry said.
On top of this, approximately 1,806 hectares (nearly 4,500 acres) of agricultural land, 13 hydropower projects, one solar power plant and two transmission lines have been damaged.
UN launches $49M emergency appeal to support thousands affected by floods
The UN and its humanitarian partners are aiming to raise $49.6 million to provide life-saving assistance to communities suffering in the aftermath of flash floods on the Nepal-China border.
More than 84,000 people are estimated to have been impacted by the catastrophe, requiring urgent help to secure shelter, food and healthcare.
“Families have lost everything: their loved ones, their homes, their livelihoods, swept away in minutes,” Lila Pieters Yahia, the UN resident coordinator in Nepal, said in a statement yesterday.
Authorities in both countries say at least 1,375 people have died, and more than 5,000 people are still unaccounted for.
The sprawling damage has restricted humanitarian access, with battered roads and crumbling bridges causing some areas to be unreachable without helicopter aid, which requires government coordination to keep airspace safe and can reduce the pace of relief efforts.
Around 35,000 people are believed to need safe temporary accommodation after losing their homes in the floods, according to a report released yesterday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN resident coordinator in Nepal.
The report estimated that 43,000 are at immediate risk of food insecurity due to little reliable access to supplies or loss of livelihood assets.
It added that damage to hospitals has disrupted services and compromised access to health care as some facilities have endured varying levels of damage, and others have seen pre-existing shortages of staff and equipment exacerbated by the disaster.
Today's rescues in Nepal took place less than 10 miles apart
The two rescues this morning in Nepal took place about 13 kilometers (8 miles) from each other — illustrating the vast area in which rescue workers are operating.
Chandika Srestha, a 60-year-old woman, was found on the upper floor of a four-storey building in Betrawati, while Lu Haitao, a Chinese national, was rescued from the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project upriver.
Rescued woman's family had been preparing her funeral, local official says
The family of a 60-year-old woman found alive 10 days after catastrophic floods in Nepal believed she must have died and had even been preparing her funeral, a local official said.
Rescuers found Chandika Shrestha on the upper floor of a four-story building in the devastated village where she lives with her husband, Ambika, who remains missing.
“Her house was buried with debris,” ward chief Ganesh Nepal told CNN shortly after the woman was airlifted to the hospital.
The ward chief explained that he had previously met with Shrestha’s son, who had traveled to his parent’s neighborhood from his home in Kathmandu a few days after floods battered the area.
After seeing the ruin inflicted by the floods, he and his sister — who also lives in the Nepali capital — believed their parents must be dead.
So great was the damage, he did not insist on his parents’ home being dug out, Nepal said. Ceremonial last rites began in Kathmandu eight days after the disaster, as the children prepared their parents’ funeral, having lost hope they’d find them alive.
Ward chief Nepal expressed regret that rescue teams had not found Shrestha sooner, as they had been active in the area for many days.
This post has been updated with additional details on the family.
Man rescued from hydropower tunnel in Nepal shouted for help when he saw rescuers' lights
A Chinese national pulled alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal, 10 days after catastrophic flash floods devastated the region has recalled the desperate cries for help he made whenever he saw the trace of a rescuer’s light.
“Every time I saw the lights, I shouted — really loudly,” Lu Haitao told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV shortly after his near miraculous rescue.
Rescuers in Nepal have pulled a Chinese national alive from a hydropower tunnel 10 days after floods caused devastation on the border, according to the Nepali army.
The survivor remembered seeing the lights several times during the long arduous days he spent trapped in the tunnel beneath the rubble.
But despite his efforts, Lu Haitao was unable to attract the attention of searchers, still some distance away.
When he was discovered today, rescue workers approached him with their lights shining directly on him, a moment he said he could hardly believe to be real.
Lu Haitao has since been taken to hospital, CCTV reported, where the Chinese ambassador to Nepal paid him a visit.
Search and rescue missions are still underway across the Nepal-China border, where authorities in both countries confirm the death toll to have risen to 1,375.
Rescue efforts have focused on the hydropower tunnels, where hundreds are feared missing
Rescue efforts have focused on the various hydropower projects dotted along the Trishuli River where hundreds of workers are trapped after last week’s flash floods encased the facilities in mud.
Around 900 workers were still recorded as missing, the Nepali Army said on Thursday, two-thirds of whom were at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project.
That is the plant from where Lu Haitao was rescued today.
Each hydropower project presents its own challenges to rescuers who are trying to find the safest way in. Some have internal tunnels stretching several kilometers, meaning any surviving workers could be a long way from the portal.
Rooms and resources inside the tunnels could theoretically help any trapped workers to survive – potentially for weeks, though air supply could be another problem.
Teams are using all sorts of technology to help locate any survivors. They’ve used satellite data, drawings of the power station and topographic information to find a way into the tunnels, according to Arnold Dix, a geologist advising the operations, as well as thermal cameras on drones to search for survivors.
South Korean team helped rescue survivor from hydropower tunnel
A team of South Korean rescue workers helped the Nepali Army rescue Chinese national Lu Haitao from inside a hydropower tunnel earlier today, Nepal’s Prime Minister’s Office just said.
Rescuers have been working for days to find any survivors from the catastrophic flash floods which tore through the country last week, leaving at least 1,000 dead and thousands more missing.
Specialist tunnel rescue teams have arrived from other countries, including India and China, too.
Members of US Congress call on Washington to "do much more" to help Nepal rescue efforts
Dozens of US Congress members have written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, calling on him to “do much more” to support ongoing search and rescue efforts following last week’s catastrophic flooding on the Nepal-China border.
In a signed letter, posted to X by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, the 27 representatives highlighted other countries which have pledged to send aid to Nepal, naming the UK, South Korea, India and China.
The State Department previously said that it is providing more than $3.6 million worth of humanitarian assistance to Nepal, including emergency food assistance.
CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.
The congress members called for the following measures regarding rescue efforts in Nepal:
- With around 75 Americans still unaccounted for, the letter called on the State Department to provide daily updates on the missing to their family members, as well as Congress.
- The representatives also urged the US government to deploy a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to communities affected by the flooding.
- They requested that the State Department coordinates with “the interagency and private sector” to use assets including thermal and infrared drones to search for the missing.
- They asked that the State Department engages with disaster authorities from Nepal and China, as well as international organizations “to ensure full coverage and access across search areas.”
- The representatives also requested that the US ensures the “rapid delivery of disaster assistance” to Nepal, and that it provides “additional reconstruction support” to “rebuild lost communities, harden infrastructure against future disasters, and spur development in affected regions.”
Rescue at Nepali hydropower rescue is the second in as many days
Nine days after flash flooding washed away valleys and buried entire villages, rescue workers in Nepal had started to shift their operations from finding survivors to recovering bodies.
But then on Friday morning, at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant, they heard an unmistakeable sound: “Okay.”
In a dramatic breakthrough for what has been a desperate, round-the-clock rescue effort in treacherous conditions, two men were pulled from an underground chamber of the hydropower plant, where Nepali rescue crews had been boring in search of 42 missing workers.
Rescuers had earlier reported hearing voices after days of a complex search and clearing mission, according to Bipin Regmi, police chief in the flood-hit district of Nuwakot.
Through a patchwork of grey debris, the two men emerged.
Carried out on a rescuer’s back, Sanjay Sah raised his hand in a wave before resting his head on the Nepal Army rescuer’s helmet. His first question was: “What day is it?”
The second man, Kabir Maharjan, was placed on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face.
That moment was the culmination of nine days of work that started with almost nothing to go on. After the August 26 disaster, the Trishuli 3A power station was unrecognizable and initially Nepali rescuers had no idea where to start digging.
To find a way in, the team had to work off satellite data, as-built drawings of the power station and topographic information, according to Arnold Dix, a geologist advising Nepali rescuers on the ground.
That’s how they narrowed down the location of the tunnel least likely to have collapsed – an area Dix calls the “Goldilocks zone.”
Search and rescue efforts in hydropower tunnels will continue for "a few days"
Rescue efforts in the hydropower tunnels where hundreds of workers are feared missing are underway and will continue for a “few days,” according to Suresh Raut, a deputy manager at the Nepal Electricity Authority.
Joint teams from Nepal’s police, army and other officials are scouring the tunnels in different power stations along the Trishuli River for survivors with the help of emergency lights, Raut said.
With today’s rescue, three workers in total have been found alive in the past 48 hours days on from the catastrophic floods.
What we know so far as rescue teams in Nepal recover flooding survivors
The death toll from last week’s catastrophic flash floods in Nepal and China has risen to 1,375, according to authorities on both sides of the border, with more than 5,000 people still missing.
Rescuers today found two survivors, 10 days after the flooding wrought havoc on the border between the two countries.
Here’s the latest from the ground:
- Rescuers in Nepal have pulled a Chinese national alive from a hydropower tunnel. The Nepali army has said he is named Lu Haitao and that his health is being assessed.
- A woman, 60, has also been rescued from a building in the Nepali district of Nuwakot, according to the Nepal armed police force.
- At least 1,344 people have died in Nepal and 4,898 people are still missing because of the flooding, Nepali police said in an update this morning.
- Meanwhile in China, at least 31 people have been killed and another 531 are unaccounted for in the autonomous region of Tibet, according to state news agency Xinhua.
- 58 people were rescued in Nepal yesterday, the army said, with the help of seven army aircrafts and six civilian aircrafts.
- Dozens of Nepali villagers who were stranded by the floods lined up for days to return home via a makeshift zip line yesterday.
CNN’s Bhadra Sharma, Kathleen Magramo, Kosh Raj Koirala, Charlotte Reck, Sarah Hutter and Zahid Mahmood contributed to this reporting.
In pictures: People displaced and building destroyed in aftermath of Nepal floods
It has now been 10 days since catastrophic flooding hit the Nepal-China border, killing at least 1,375 people, according to authorities in both countries.
Rescuers are still working to find survivors, with more than 5,000 people still missing, as locals grapple with the destruction left in the wake of the floods.
Here’s a look at the latest from the ground:
Woman rescued from building ten days after floods struck
A woman has been rescued from a building in the Nepali district of Nuwakot ten days after devastating floods swept through the area, according to the Nepal armed police force.
The 60-year old woman had been trapped on the upper floor of a four-storey building.
Survivor's health being assessed after rescue, army says
In their statement, the Nepali Army named the Chinese national they rescued as Lu Haitao and said his health is being assessed.
“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 said following the rescue on Saturday afternoon local time.
“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.”
This post has been updated.
