"Another Person Nearby," Says Survivor... Tunnel Search Resumes

[Anchor]

A Chinese survivor who was rescued by our rescue team in Nepal yesterday (the 5th) after 10 days has stated that there was one more person near the spot where he was inside the hydropower plant tunnel. Our Korea Disaster Relief Team currently active on the ground has re-entered the tunnel to resume search and rescue operations.

Reporting by Kim Minpyo.

[Reporter]

Korean disaster relief team members discover a survivor in a muddy hydropower plant tunnel.

[Korea Disaster Relief Team Member: Are you okay? Are you okay? Survivor!]

The survivor was found 225 meters inside the tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 hydroelectric power plant, which was being constructed by a South Korean company.

This is the moment when a Chinese man who endured 10 days behind the rebar of a massive structure inside the dark tunnel is rescued.

The Chinese survivor, Lu Haitao, was transported to a hospital by a military helicopter and is recovering his health.

[Lu Haitao / Chinese Survivor: I am a little better, but sometimes I feel dizzy and my head is heavy.]

[Lim Palsun / Fire Lieutenant, National 119 Rescue Headquarters: The tunnel was very deep, with an open section extending about 250 to 300 meters. A massive amount of rocks had piled up, so we had to pass through a very narrow space to enter all the way inside the tunnel.]

At the time of the rescue, Lu pointed with his hand to the spot inside the tunnel where he had been trapped and stated that there was one more person, though their status—whether dead or alive—was unknown.

[Korea Disaster Relief Team Member: Are there more people? (Yes.) You mean one person?]

Following this, the South Korean rescue team, together with the Nepalese military, has re-entered the tunnel to conduct additional search and rescue operations.

Work is also underway to recover two bodies discovered during the tunnel search yesterday.

The rescue team has also included the powerhouse, where power generation equipment such as turbines are located, and the Yellow Bridge area, a major passageway, in their search scope.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held talks with the Nepalese foreign minister to request support for the search operations to find nine missing South Koreans, and discussed cooperation measures including future reconstruction.

Video by Park Chun-bae

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