Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 5: Two more persons including a Chinese national and a 64-year old Nepali woman have been rescued alive on Saturday, 11 days after the devastating floods that hit Nepal on August 26.
Two persons had been rescued from a hydropower project tunnel on Friday even as the death toll in the devastating floods crossed 1,344 with over 4,900 people still reported “missing.”
While the 64-year-old woman was found alive after spending 11 days buried beneath a house following devastating flash floods in Betravati, Nuwakot, Nepal, the Chinese national identified as Luhaitao, was pulled out safely from the Edit-4 tunnel of the flood-affected Upper Trishuli-1 (216 MW) hydropower project on Saturday afternoon.
“A joint rescue team comprising the Nepali Army and foreign rescuers has rescued a Chinese national, Luhaitao, alive from inside a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project,” the Nepali Army said following the rescue on Saturday. “Luhaitao was rescued from a point approximately 225 metres inside the tunnel. His health is currently being assessed, while search and rescue operations are continuing.” Luhaitao was rescued at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday from the site in Nuwakot district.
According to the Armed Police Force, the rescued woman was identified as Chandika Shrestha, 64, a resident of Betravati. She was safely evacuated from the fourth floor of their own home. Her rescue comes amid a massive search-and-rescue operation in flood-hit Nepal, where thousands of people remain missing after the August 26 disaster. The remarkable survival has offered a rare moment of hope amid the devastation caused by the floods.
According to the Nepal Prime Minister’s Office, a team of disaster experts from the Nepal Army and South Korea rescued the Chinese national from inside the tunnel some time ago. The rescued Chinese national is being taken to Maithili Barracks at Trishuli in Nuwakot for treatment. He has been safely rescued from the tunnel on the 11th day of the flood.
Devastating floods and landslides in Nepal have affected 84,000 people and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The United Nations (UN) and its partner organisations have appealed to raise close to US$50 million to deliver essential aid to affected communities.
The United Nations has appealed to humanitarian partner organisations to provide the funds. The appeal was made to reach more than 84,000 people affected by floods and landslides in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers.
According to the UN Office in Nepal, the aid will be used to implement on a priority basis a four-month plan prepared by the Government of Nepal under the leadership of the National Disaster Management Authority. The scheme is designed to deliver essential assistance to those affected before the onset of winter. The United Nations and its humanitarian partner organisations are working in coordination with rescue and relief operations conducted by the Government of Nepal.
The main priority of this aid appeal is to bring shelter, medical facilities, clean water and cash assistance to the most remote settlements before the government-led winter sets in, Leila Peters Yahia, UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal, said in a statement. The aid will deliver cash assistance, food, shelter, clean water, health services and other life-saving supplies to people in the worst affected areas, the United Nations said.
The UN and its partners are coordinating with the Government of Nepal to deliver immediate relief to the disaster-affected people. Delivering urgent assistance, particularly to the most devastated and inaccessible communities, is a priority of the campaign.