Two people rescued as Nepal search continues after deadly floods

What happened

Ten days after the floods, rescuers in Nepal located two people alive during separate search operations. One of the survivors was a Chinese national found inside a 225-metre tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project.

Nepal’s military reported that a joint team of its army personnel and South Korean disaster experts recovered the man from the tunnel and that he was undergoing a health assessment after being carried to a helicopter. Photographs released showed him being lifted toward an aircraft.

Separately, a 64-year-old Nepali woman was discovered in a damaged house in the town of Nuwakot, partly submerged in mud; rescuers pulled her from the debris and airlifted her to Kathmandu for treatment. Police on the scene were shown cheering as she was extracted from a home half-buried in thick sludge.

Additionally, two Nepali workers were rescued the previous day from another tunnel on the Trishuli River. Search operations continue at several hydroelectric sites and in affected towns where the floods caused heavy structural damage.

Why this is happening

According to reports, the floods were triggered by a glacial and rock collapse on 26 August, which produced a sudden surge of water and large volumes of mud and debris. That initial collapse set off downstream destruction and multiple infrastructure failures.

The disaster caused more than 40 bridge collapses and sudden swelling of rivers, complicating access for responders and making some areas unreachable by road. These conditions have forced search teams to rely increasingly on air evacuations and specialized search tactics.

Authorities and international teams from India, China, South Korea and the US have concentrated efforts on about a dozen hydropower projects, where tunnels and related installations sustained damage. Reports state that roughly 900 workers at hydropower sites are missing, with about 500 believed to be trapped inside large tunnels.

The source does not provide a full inventory of specific locations where missing people may be nor detailed medical updates for all rescued individuals beyond the information that the Chinese man underwent assessment and the Nepali woman was flown to Kathmandu.

How this will affect things

Rescue operations are being hampered by the scale of infrastructure damage, which slows access to potential victims and increases the reliance on helicopters for evacuation. Working amid unstable debris and damaged structures also elevates the hazards for responders.

Experts cited in reports have said the likelihood of finding people alive in tunnels is decreasing with time, though the source gives no precise survival estimates or timelines. This diminishing chance affects how resources are prioritized between search efforts and medical care for survivors when found.

The casualty figures — at least 1,375 dead and more than 5,000 missing according to Nepal’s disaster management agency — highlight the scale of the humanitarian emergency and the need for sustained international support. The involvement of foreign rescue teams indicates ongoing international coordination in the response.

What happens next

Search-and-rescue work will continue, focusing on locating and extracting any remaining survivors, providing medical care to those rescued, and stabilizing affected areas. Medical assessments and transport to hospitals, as seen with the two individuals mentioned, will remain central tasks.

The reporting does not specify a timetable for ending operations nor detail additional resources or command changes for the rescue effort. It similarly lacks comprehensive figures on how many people have received aid or the full medical condition of all survivors.

In the near term, responders are expected to maintain operations at hydropower sites and in damaged communities with support from both domestic and international teams. Continued reconnaissance and establishing safe access routes to remote locations will be essential for any further recoveries.