Nepal rescuers blast hillside in search of hydropower workers as families wait anxiously

"I still have a 50% hope that he is alive because there is an oxygen system inside," Sita Pandey, whose husband was working in the plant when the floods hit, told Nepalese daily Kantipur.

The rescue operation is being spearheaded by an international team made up of Chinese and Nepalese military personnel, while experts from India, Korea and Australia are also involved.

Nepalese leader Shah said rescue operations had been "intensified", noting that 11,379 people had been rescued so far.