KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Rescuers in Nepal pulled out a Chinese man and woman in separate operations Saturday, 10 days after devastating floods hit the country, as teams continued to search for thousands of people still missing. The man was rescued from a hydroelectric tunnel, according to a social media post from the country’s prime minister’s office, bringing the total to three workers rescued alive from the Trishuli hydroelectric project. Two Nepalese workers were rescued on Friday. Nepal’s military said a joint rescue team of Nepalese military personnel and South Korean disaster experts rescued the man from a 225-meter (about 740-foot) tunnel and that he was undergoing a health assessment. Footage showed him being evacuated by helicopter, with an army doctor checking him during the flight. A photograph published by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed two rescuers pulling the man out of the tunnel. Rescue efforts have increasingly focused on 12 hydropower projects across Nepal, where about 900 workers are missing and about 500 are believed trapped in several tunnels, officials said. Specialized rescue teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States have been searching through rubble, damaged structures and tunnels in the projects, hoping to find survivors. In the flood-hit city of Nuwakot, a woman was rescued alive from a house, Nepal’s army spokesman said on Saturday. Authorities said she would be flown to Kathmandu for treatment. Footage released by the Nepalese army showed rescuers finding the woman covered in mud inside the damaged house. They gave her bottled water before taking her to safety, wrapped in a gray blanket. At least 1,300 people died in the August 26 floods, which were likely caused by a collapsing glacier, and more than 5,000 remain missing, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency.___Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writer Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
