Two workers have been rescued alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal nine days after catastrophic flooding devastated communities and left thousands of people missing, raising hopes that more survivors could still be found underground.
Rescuers pulled Sanjay Sah, a mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor, from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower construction site on Friday.
One of the survivors told rescue teams that other workers were still alive inside the tunnel, according to Nepal army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet.
Rescuers first heard voices coming from inside the tunnel Friday morning, confirming that people had survived and helping teams locate the two trapped men.
Television footage showed one of the workers covered in mud as rescuers carried him from the site. Both men were airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu, with the prime minister’s office saying one was in critical condition.
The rescue comes nine days after devastating floods struck Nepal on Aug. 26 following what authorities believe was a glacier collapse.
Sah, 30, later told army officials that he had been working in the tunnel’s control room when the disaster unfolded.
He said there would normally be only four to six people in the area, but as many as 40 to 45 workers may have been there that day.
Sah said he warned other workers to flee as soon as information arrived about the disaster upstream. Instead of immediately escaping himself, he stayed behind to help others.
“My responsibility was to save everyone’s lives,” Sah told officials while lying on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face.
By the time he attempted to escape, Sah said, it was too late.
The successful rescue has brought renewed hope to families waiting for news of hundreds of workers who remain unaccounted for at the hydropower project.
According to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal, at least 557 workers from the Trishuli 3A project remain missing, including approximately 115 who are believed to be trapped inside the tunnel.
Officials said rescue operations are continuing.
Nepal’s Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina expressed hope that additional survivors would be reached as crews continue searching the damaged site.
The scale of the disaster extends far beyond the Trishuli project.
About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects across Nepal, according to local authorities, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped inside tunnels.
The Aug. 26 floods have killed at least 1,259 people in Nepal, while more than 5,000 remain missing, according to the country’s disaster management agency.
The disaster has also affected neighbouring Tibet. Chinese authorities said Friday that at least 31 people had died and 531 remained missing on the Chinese side of the border.
Despite the enormous scale of the destruction, Friday’s rescue has provided a rare moment of hope.
For families awaiting news of workers still trapped underground, the discovery of two survivors after nine days has strengthened hopes that others may also have found pockets of safety inside the tunnels as rescue crews continue their search.
