A Chinese man named Lu Haitao was rescued from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal on Saturday, 10 days after devastating floods killed over 1,300 people. His family in China experienced profound relief after days of anxious waiting, while regional disaster agencies reported thousands still missing in the South Asian country.
The Agonizing Ten-Day Wait for Lu Haitao’s Family
For Lu Hairong, the reality of her brother’s survival only set in when she saw his photograph in the news. Her 49-year-old brother, who is married with a son and a farmer from Henan province who took on carpentry work during his spare time, had traveled to Nepal for work in February. It was his first time working abroad, according to statements she shared with the Chinese state media outlet Red Star News. Prior to the confirmation, she monitored mutual aid groups for families of the missing, struggling to sleep or eat.
Lu’s cousin, Lu Haiqing, revealed to Jiupai News that her mind went blank upon learning he was missing on the sixth day following the floods. She spent her days searching for updates on Nepal, utilizing artificial intelligence translation tools to convert Nepali reports into Chinese while weeping on her way to work. When the breakthrough came on Saturday, she received an image from Lu’s sister to help confirm his identity before reaching out to another relative for final verification. “This day has finally come,” she remarked, adding that “there is hope when one doesn’t give up.”
Inside the 225-Meter Hydropower Tunnel
The rescue operation extracted Lu from a 225-meter (740-foot) hydropower tunnel, after which he was promptly evacuated by helicopter and admitted to a hospital in stable condition, as reported by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. Detail from Lu’s own account highlights the psychological endurance required to survive underground. He recalled climbing to the highest point inside the tunnel and initially dismissing the sound of rescue whistles as a hallucination.
According to audio shared by CCTV, when rescue personnel shone their lights toward him, they could not immediately hear his shouts. “When they shone before my eyes, I couldn’t believe it,” Lu recounted to a Chinese embassy staffer. “I no longer shouted. I had lost hope.”
Cross-Border Devastation and Regional Toll
The August 26 floods were likely triggered by a glacier collapse, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency, which noted that nearly 4,900 people remain missing in the country. The disaster’s footprint extends far beyond the immediate valley. On the Tibet side of the border, tragedy struck the Gyirong border facility where a mudslide swallowed people and left behind a landscape covered in fragments of rocks and gravel.
Official reporting illustrates the stark human cost on both sides of the Himalayan frontier:
| Region / Authority | Confirmed Fatalities | Missing Persons |
|---|---|---|
| Nepal (Disaster Management Agency) | Over 1,300 | Nearly 4,900 |
| Tibet Side (CCTV / Xinhua Reports) | 31 to 43 | 519 to 531 (including 261 foreigners) |
By Sunday, search operations utilized excavators at the Gyirong border crossing while mourners laid yellow chrysanthemums on the ground in a solemn tribute to the victims. As recovery efforts press forward, the successful extraction of survivors like Lu provides a rare moment of clarity amid widespread regional grief.
