Rescuers in Nepal pulled alive a Chinese national from a tunnel and a local woman from her partially submerged home on Saturday, as emergency teams searched with fresh urgency for thousands missing since catastrophic flooding 10 days ago.
A team comprising personnel from the Nepal Army and foreign experts rescued the Chinese man from 225 metres (738 feet) inside the tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Rasuwa district, a military statement said.
A picture on the army's Facebook page showed the man, identified only as Luhaitao, supported by two camouflage-clad rescuers.
He appeared alert, but his hands were covered in thick, wet mud.
"His health is currently being assessed and further search and rescue operations are continuing," the army said.
The man was among hundreds of hydropower workers who went missing after a tsunami-like wall of water and mud swept through the China-Nepal border following a vast glacial and rock collapse on August 26.
Authorities later in the day said members of Nepal's Armed Police Force had pulled Chandrika Shrestha, 64, alive from her buried home in Nuwakot district.
"A police team found her as they were clearing the area. She has been airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment," police deputy superintendent Iqbal Hawari told AFP.
A video released by the police force showed only part of her house visible, with the lower floors submerged by thick sludge.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah said Shrestha's rescue "has given hope to the entire nation".
The energy ministry said rescuers were planning to use customised drones provided by Switzerland to assist in the tunnel search operations.
The drones are specifically designed to conduct search and inspection operations inside dark, narrow and hazardous tunnels.
"Our priority right now is... to continue the rescue efforts, keep all possible options open, and move forward with hope and responsibility," Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said on social media.
On Friday, two Nepali hydropower workers were rescued at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, where searches continued alongside multiple other sites, with at least 12 hydropower projects destroyed by the floods.
Both men were reported to be in stable condition in a Kathmandu hospital.
The government initially said it believed more than 100 workers could be alive inside multiple tunnels.
Experts from India, China, Australia and South Korea have been aiding Nepali rescuers in their search for survivors in the blocked tunnels.
So far 1,331 bodies have been recovered in Nepal, the national disaster agency said, revising an earlier figure of 1,344. Around 5,000 people remain missing in the country.
Chinese state media said 31 people had been killed and 531 were missing in Tibet.
That takes the overall death toll to 1,362 people, with more than 5,500 missing, including several hundred tourists and pilgrims.
In Kathmandu, mourners gathered on Saturday for a vigil honouring the victims of the disaster.
Dozens of people placed candles on the ground around the country's flag. Some appeared to offer prayers.
One framed sign propped against the base of a statue read: "Pray for Nepal."
Rescuers have also been relying on drones to deliver medicine, food and other supplies, as well as transporting bodies, in high-altitude areas hard to reach by road.
"We have sent a lot of relief material and right now our team is loading some materials for the hospital in the area," drone operator Avaya Pokharel told AFP in Nuwakot.
The United Nations has warned that the "magnitude of the destruction" makes delivering aid an immense challenge, launching a $50-million appeal to help more than 84,000 people affected by the disaster.
With morgues overflowing, around 1,030 bodies have been buried in mass graves, after having DNA samples taken for future identification, Nepal Police said on Saturday.
Communities in the worst-affected districts remained cut off after the floods tore through mountains, destroying roads and bridges.
On Saturday, the Nepalese government released a provisional damage assessment, saying more than 7,500 houses, 48 public buildings and about 100 bridges had been destroyed.
In a sign of progress, a team was able to reach the remote Nepal-China international border crossing at Timure in Rasuwa district on Saturday. They placed Nepal's flag at the location, Shah, the prime minister, said.
"After three days of continuous efforts, Nepal's national flag has been reinstalled along the Nepali border," he said on Facebook.
"It was extremely difficult to identify the border from the Nepali side and erect the flag."
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