Chinese national rescued from Nepal tunnel 10 days after flash flood - Reuters

**Chinese National Rescued from Nepal Tunnel Ten Days After Flash Flood**

*Kathmandu, Nepal* – A massive flash flood that struck Nepal’s eastern district of Ilam on August 20, 2024, sent torrents of water roaring through a network of construction tunnels, collapsing several sections and trapping dozens of workers inside. The disaster, triggered by unprecedented monsoon rains, left at least 12 people dead and many more missing, prompting a massive multi‑agency rescue operation involving the Nepalese Army, local police, and international consular teams. Among the trapped were several foreign laborers, including a 38‑year‑old Chinese national employed on a hydropower project.

After a painstaking search that lasted ten days, Nepalese rescue teams finally located the Chinese worker deep within the debris of the flooded tunnel. According to a statement from the Nepal Army’s rescue unit, the survivor was heard calling out “Hunncha” – a Nepali term meaning “I’m okay” – which was later echoed by a fellow rescuer chanting “Hare Krishna,” a phrase that helped keep morale high among the rescuers. The worker was extracted on the morning of August 30 by a specialized rope‑team and air‑lifted to a nearby field hospital, where he was reported to be in stable condition. The rescue was coordinated with the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, which dispatched medical personnel and translation support to the site.

The successful retrieval follows a series of subsequent rescues, including the extraction of another foreign worker and the discovery of a woman’s body in the rubble eleven days after the flood, as reported by Indian media outlets. The operation has highlighted the challenges of emergency response in Nepal’s rugged terrain and underscored the importance of cross‑border cooperation in disaster relief. Nepal’s Prime Minister has pledged to accelerate safety audits of ongoing tunnel projects and improve early‑warning systems to prevent similar tragedies in the future.