Rescuers in Nepal pulled a Chinese national alive from a hydropower tunnel on Saturday, according to a social media post by the Himalayan country's prime minister’s office.

The latest rescue, which came 10 days after the deadly border disaster, brings the total number of workers pulled alive to three from the Trishuli hydropower project. Two Nepalese workers were rescued from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant on Friday.

About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects across Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in various tunnels, according to authorities.

The rescue came as the death toll from the disaster on Nepal's side crossed the 1,300 mark, the country's police said on Saturday.

According to the latest details released by police, as many as 1,344 bodies had been recovered by 5am on Saturday.

The force said 4,898 people remained out of contact as of Saturday morning, and 8,631 people have been rescued so far, as security agencies continue search and rescue operations in the mudslide-affected areas.

Authorities have also intensified efforts to identify bodies through DNA testing. DNA samples have been collected from 1,260 deceased people and 972 relatives of the deceased, bringing the total number of samples collected to 2,232. (AP & Xinhua)




Edited by Azam Khan