Nepal flood survivor’s family in China relieved after days of anxious waiting

In a heartening turn of events, a Chinese national named Lu Haitao was rescued from a 225-meter hydropower tunnel in Nepal after being trapped for 10 days due to devastating floods that claimed over 1,300 lives. The floods, believed to have been triggered by a glacier collapse, occurred on August 26, and the death toll has reached nearly 4,900, with 531 people still missing, according to Nepal's disaster management agency.

On the Chinese side of the border, 31 people lost their lives, and 531 are missing. Lu, who was working in Nepal for the first time, recounted his harrowing experience in a video shared by CCTV. He described how he climbed to the peak of the tunnel and initially thought the rescue whistles were in his imagination until his hope was restored when the rescue crews shone lights toward him.

Lu's sister, Lu Hairong, in China, was initially skeptical about the rescue news but eventually found solace upon seeing her brother's photograph in the media. Lu, a 49-year-old farmer from Henan province in central China, had taken on additional work, mainly carpentry, during his spare time before moving to Nepal. His family had been watching the news updates provided by a mutual aid group for families of the missing, struggling to cope with their grief and anxiety.