Tunnel Rescue

Rescuers in Nepal pulled a Chinese national alive on Saturday from a tunnel buried by debris, as emergency response teams dug with new vigour in the search for missing people 10 days after catastrophic flooding. The man was rescued from 225 metres inside the tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Rasuwa district.

A picture of the rescue shows the man, identified only as Luhaitao, with his arms around the shoulders of two camouflage-clad rescuers. He looked alert but his hands were covered in thick, slimy mud. "His health is currently being assessed and further search and rescue operations are continuing," the army said.

1,375 dead, 5,500 missing

Two Nepali hydropower workers were rescued on Friday, called a "miracle" after being pulled out alive nine days after being trapped. Experts from India, China, Australia and South Korea have been aiding Nepali rescuers. So far, 1,344 bodies have been recovered in Nepal, with around 5,000 missing. In China, 31 people have been killed and 531 are missing, taking the overall death toll to 1,375 and more than 5,500 missing.

With morgues overflowing, some 1,030 bodies have been buried in mass graves after taking DNA samples for future identification. Prime Minister Balendra Shah promised to provide "safe and comfortable accommodation" for thousands displaced. "We know that staying there is not easy for you," he said. "But we will once again create an environment where you can dream about and build your future."