Rescue workers in Nepal have pulled two people alive from the wreckage of a landslide-triggered flood, ten days after the disaster struck, according to AP News.
The survivors were extracted from debris in a rural area hit by the late-August floods, which buried homes and infrastructure under mud and rock. AP News reports that the rescue came as a relief to families who had feared the worst, with NBC News noting that relatives of one survivor expressed joy at the dramatic outcome.
The two individuals were found trapped in a house that had been completely buried, as detailed by The New York Times. One of the survivors was a woman, and separate reporting from Reuters confirms that a Chinese national was also rescued from a tunnel in the same disaster zone, highlighting the international dimension of those affected.
The rescues have buoyed the spirits of emergency teams, who have been working under difficult conditions, according to a report carried by Yahoo. The same report indicates that while these miracle finds have raised morale, the broader search and recovery operation remains challenging due to unstable terrain and ongoing weather risks.
The floods, which struck in late August, have caused widespread devastation across Nepal, with entire villages cut off and hundreds of homes destroyed. The successful extraction of the two survivors after such a long period has been described as extraordinary, given the typical survival window for those trapped without food or water.
What to watch next: Whether further rescue efforts can locate additional survivors as teams continue to clear debris in the hardest-hit districts.
