KATHMANDU, Nepal — Rescue teams found two people alive in Nepal on Saturday, September 5, 2026, 10 days after flash floods swept through communities along the Trishuli River.
One survivor was recovered from a hydropower tunnel and the other from a damaged building downstream.
The two rescues came as thousands of families in Nepal and China awaited information about missing relatives. Authorities said at least 1,362 people had died in the disaster.
Chandika Shrestha was discovered on an upper floor of a four-storey building in Betrawati, a community heavily damaged by the floods.
Her relatives had concluded that she was dead and had begun ceremonial last rites while preparing for her funeral, according to a local official.
The second survivor, Lu Haitao, a Chinese national, was pulled from one of the hydropower tunnels where hundreds of workers are believed to remain trapped or missing.
Search Continues in Hydropower Tunnels
About 900 missing people worked at hydropower facilities situated along the Trishuli River.
The floods began after a large section of ice broke away from a melting glacier, setting off a landslide that sent water, mud and debris through downstream settlements within minutes.
Lu said he had repeatedly tried to attract search teams by shouting whenever he noticed their lights.
“When they came to rescue me today, even when their (lights) were shining right in front of me, I couldn’t believe it,” he told the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Two other hydropower workers were brought out alive from a different facility on Friday after search teams worked continuously in dangerous conditions.
Two bodies were also recovered from the site where Lu was found, underscoring the risks facing hundreds of people whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Rescue operations have increasingly concentrated on hydropower installations along the river. Specialist teams from India and China are assisting Nepali crews with searches through damaged structures and obstructed tunnels.
Families Wait for Information
Relatives of missing workers have placed photographs and notices on a board as they seek information from survivors and rescue teams.
Krishna Poudel posted a photograph of his younger brother, Ishwor, a 26-year-old hydropower worker, among scores of notices eight days ago. He has received no confirmation of his brother’s fate.
Workers who escaped from the tunnels told Poudel that Ishwor might still be trapped inside.
“They said they could hear the voices of about 200-300 people shouting from inside,” Poudel told Reuters.
Nepali authorities are continuing to search for people cut off by the floods while constructing temporary crossings to replace bridges destroyed along the river.
Damage Restricts Humanitarian Access
More than 7,500 homes and approximately 55 kilometres of road were damaged across Nepal, according to the country’s Foreign Ministry.
The destruction has restricted access to affected communities, leaving thousands of residents without adequate shelter, food and other essential supplies.
About 35,000 people require secure temporary accommodation, while an estimated 43,000 face an immediate danger of food insecurity, according to a United Nations assessment.
The Nepali Army said its operations included delivering assistance to isolated communities and rebuilding temporary bridges, in addition to searching the hydropower facilities.
US Lawmakers Seek Expanded Response
Twenty-seven members of the United States Congress have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to expand Washington’s response to the disaster.
The lawmakers said the State Department should provide daily briefings to relatives of missing Americans, make aerial imagery available to rescue teams and increase support for reconstruction.
They argued that the scale of the destruction required the United States to “do much more.”
A State Department spokesperson declined to discuss the congressional correspondence. The spokesperson said the United States had already committed $3.6 million to relief operations and would provide a further $3 million through an assistance arrangement with the World Food Programme.
As humanitarian agencies worked to reach displaced families, search crews continued examining tunnels and debris along the river for those still missing.
