2 people found alive 10 days after devastating Nepal-Tibet floods
LONDON -- A man and a woman have been found alive 10 days after the devastating floods near the Nepal-Tibet border, officials said.
Images of the man and woman being rescued were posted by Nepal’s Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Saturday, confirming the rescues.
The man was rescued from a hydropower tunnel, according to a social media post by the country’s prime minister’s office. Three workers in total have now been pulled alive from the Trishuli hydropower project, the Associated Press said.
Two other Nepali workers were rescued from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant on Friday, according to AP..
At least 557 workers are missing from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project along the Trishuli River, with about 115 believed to be trapped in the tunnel, according to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.
Nepal’s Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina said officials remain hopeful that more workers will be rescued. “We are waiting for the rescue of more and more people,” Timilsina wrote on his Facebook page.
Meanwhile, in flood-hit Nuwakot town, a woman was rescued alive from a house, Nepal’s army spokesperson said Saturday.
Images on social media showed rescuers pulling the woman from the house, wrapped in a gray blanket.
The death toll following last week's unprecedented flash flood at the Nepal-Tibet border has climbed to 1,344, with an additional 4,996 people believed to still be missing as of Saturday, officials said.
Chinese state media have reported an additional 16 deaths and 546 missing people in Tibet.
About 70 Americans are unaccounted for in the Nepal-Tibet border region, and 17 Americans impacted have made their way to safety, the U.S. State Department said Friday.
Relief and rescue efforts are continuing, with almost all communication towers restored and nearly 12,000 people rescued through international and domestic aid.
Additionally, almost 21,500 security personnel have been mobilized in an effort to speed up search and rescue operations, with more than 5,000 people receiving treatment for injuries, officials said.
Nepali Prime Minister Balen Shah said earlier this week that his government would begin focusing on "rehabilitation" as the length of time since the initial disaster grows.
