The rescue carries particular significance for Seoul because the man was found at the Upper Trishuli-1, or UT-1, hydropower project in Rasuwa District, where nine South Korean workers remain missing.
A joint team of Nepali military personnel and South Korean disaster experts found the Chinese national alive inside a 225-meter tunnel at the project, according to the Nepal Army and the prime minister's office.
The man, identified by local media as Luhaitao, walked out of the tunnel with assistance from rescuers before being evacuated by helicopter for a medical assessment.
The Korea Disaster Relief Team, or KDRT, also confirmed its participation in the operation, saying the survivor was rescued from a tunnel near the weir dam at the UT-1 site.
The rescue marked the ninth survivor saved by KDRT in overseas disaster operations since the system was established. The team rescued eight people following the devastating earthquake in Türkiye in 2023.
The operation demonstrated that people could still be found alive in tunnels at the very hydropower complex where the missing Koreans had been working when the Aug. 26 floods struck.
The nine — six employees of Doosan Enerbility and three from state-run Korea South-East Power — have been unaccounted for since the torrent of water, mud, ice and debris swept through the Trishuli River valley.
Search operations around the UT-1 site have repeatedly been hampered by damaged roads, difficult mountain terrain, heavy debris, poor weather and restrictions imposed by Nepali authorities over safety concerns.
Rescue authorities believe hundreds of workers may remain trapped in tunnels at hydropower projects across the disaster zone, making underground searches an increasingly important part of the wider operation.
About 900 workers remain missing from hydropower projects, with roughly 500 believed to have been trapped in tunnels, according to Nepali authorities.
The Aug. 26 floods, believed to have been triggered by a massive collapse of rock and glacial ice in the Himalayan highlands, have killed more than 1,300 people and left more than 5,000 missing in one of Nepal's worst natural disasters.
South Korea's involvement in the rescue operation has expanded in stages since the disaster.
Seoul first sent small government rapid-response teams to Nepal to focus on locating the missing Koreans, conducting helicopter, drone and ground searches as access permitted.
The government also announced $1 million in humanitarian assistance and later added emergency relief supplies, including tens of thousands of thermal blankets.
A larger step came after the Nepali government, which had initially limited the involvement of overseas search-and-rescue teams, formally requested specialized assistance from South Korea.
Seoul decided on Sept. 1 to dispatch the 44-member KDRT, comprising three Foreign Ministry officials, four Korea International Cooperation Agency personnel and 37 National Fire Agency rescuers.
The team departed aboard a South Korean Air Force KC-330 transport aircraft shortly after midnight on Sept. 2 and arrived in Kathmandu later that morning.
It brought five search-and-rescue dogs as well as high-resolution drones, audio and visual equipment for detecting trapped survivors, thermal imaging equipment, water pumps and other specialized rescue gear.
The deployment placed South Korea among a relatively small group of foreign countries granted an operational role in Nepal's search-and-rescue effort as Kathmandu began seeking specialized international assistance to reach tunnels and other areas inaccessible to conventional teams.
KDRT was established under South Korea's Overseas Emergency Relief Act enacted in 2007 to provide search and rescue, medical assistance and disaster relief following major emergencies abroad.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is also visiting Nepal from Saturday through Monday and is expected to seek continued cooperation from Nepali authorities for the search, meet families of the missing workers and visit the Korean relief team on the ground.
AJP Takeaways:
- A joint Nepali-Korean team rescued a Chinese worker alive from the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project 10 days after the floods.
- Nine South Korean workers remain missing at the same project, making the rescue the strongest sign yet that survival may still be possible.
- South Korea has deployed a 44-member KDRT, joining a small group of foreign rescue teams allowed to operate in Nepal.
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