Rescuers in Nepal have successfully pulled a Chinese hydropower worker and a Nepali woman alive from the wreckage caused by catastrophic flooding, offering renewed hope as search efforts continue for thousands of people still unaccounted for. The rescues came nearly two weeks after a massive glacier collapse on August 26 unleashed a devastating torrent of water, rock, and ice through the Himalayan valleys.

Lu Haitao, a Chinese national, was freed on Saturday from a flooded tunnel at a hydropower plant in Rasuwa district, north of the capital, Kathmandu. He had been trapped 225 meters inside the tunnel. Separately, 64-year-old Chandika Kumari Shrestha was discovered and rescued from her collapsed home in the neighboring Nuwakot district. Both individuals had been missing since the initial disaster.

These two rescues, occurring within hours of each other, mark the third and fourth survivors recovered from the disaster zone. Lu was extracted by a joint team of Nepali soldiers and South Korean disaster specialists. He appeared to be in stable condition, though suffering from mild hypothermia, and was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Kathmandu. He recounted hearing rescue crews' lights but initially going unheard until a beam finally reached him.

Al Jazeera's reporting from Rasuwa district indicated that Saturday's rainfall had presented challenges for search operations, but teams were pressing forward. Shrestha, found submerged in mud within her destroyed home, was provided with water by rescuers before being airlifted to Kathmandu for medical attention. Her rescue followed the recovery of two Nepali tunnel workers from a nearby hydropower site the previous day, the first survivors found at any of the region's affected plants.

The disaster has now claimed at least 1,331 lives in Nepal, with approximately 5,000 people still missing. This figure includes 589 foreign nationals. Across the border in Tibet, China's autonomous region, authorities have reported 31 deaths and 531 missing individuals. A significant number of the unaccounted for, around 900 workers, were employed at hydropower construction sites. Roughly 500 of these are believed to be trapped within tunnels at more than a dozen projects devastated by the floodwaters.

The glacial lake outburst flood, triggered by the glacier collapse, sent a massive wave of debris cascading into towns and villages situated along river valleys. These areas are crucial for Nepal's hydroelectric power generation. The floodwaters destroyed vital infrastructure, including roads, homes, and schools, severely impacting communities and hindering rescue and relief efforts.

Officials have been working to assess the full extent of the damage and coordinate ongoing search and rescue operations. The challenging terrain, combined with persistent weather issues, has complicated efforts to reach remote areas and locate missing individuals. The number of foreign nationals missing highlights the international workforce present in Nepal's developing infrastructure projects.

Questions remain about the long-term impact on the region's infrastructure, particularly the numerous hydropower projects. The loss of life and missing persons underscores the vulnerability of communities living in close proximity to these natural systems and the risks associated with large-scale development in geologically active zones.