Kathmandu: Two workers have been rescued alive from a hydropower project tunnel in Nepal, nine days after devastating flash floods swept through parts of the country, offering renewed hope that more people could still be found alive.
The workers, identified as 30 year old mechanical foreman Sanjay Shah and 45 year old supervisor Kabir Maharjan, were pulled from the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project in the Trishuli region. Both were reportedly injured in their arms and legs and are believed to have survived by moving through the tunnel after its entrance was buried by mud and debris.
Shah was airlifted to Battar for medical treatment and was reported to be in stable condition, while Maharjan was taken to Chhauni Hospital in Kathmandu and placed under intensive care.
Rescue teams described the operation as extraordinary, with images showing the mud covered workers being carried out of the tunnel. Their survival has raised hopes among families waiting for news of missing workers.
The two were among hundreds reported missing after a massive wall of mud and debris swept through the region on August 26 following a major glacial and rock collapse near the China Nepal border. The tunnel leading to the underground powerhouse at the Trishuli 3A project stretches for more than four kilometres.
Rescue operations are continuing at several other hydropower tunnels, where more than 150 people are feared trapped. Authorities have said around 900 workers remain missing from 12 hydropower projects, with approximately 500 believed to be inside tunnels. Engineers are pumping air into the affected tunnels as teams work to reach survivors.
Nepal’s devastating floods have killed at least 1,259 people, while more than 5,000 remain missing. Officials have urged rescuers and families to maintain hope as operations continue across the affected areas.
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