Hope In Nepal As Two Hydropower Workers Survive Nine Days Inside Flooded Tunnel

Two workers have been pulled alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal, nine days after devastating floods swept through the area and left hundreds of people missing.

The men were rescued on Friday from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project, where emergency teams have been working to locate workers believed to be trapped underground following the August 26 disaster.

They were identified as mechanical foreman Sanjay Sah and mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan. Both were taken to the hospital in Kathmandu after being rescued from the tunnel.

Images broadcast by local television showed rescuers carrying one of the men from the site, covered in mud. Their rescue has raised fresh hopes that others trapped underground may still be alive.

According to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal, 557 workers remain missing from the Trishuli 3A project, with about 115 believed to be inside the main tunnel.

The floods followed the collapse of a glacier and triggered widespread destruction across parts of Nepal, sweeping away homes, roads and entire villages.

Officials have continued searching the affected hydropower sites, with authorities estimating that about 900 workers are missing across 12 projects and roughly 500 could be trapped inside tunnels.

Nepal’s disaster management agency has reported at least 1,259 deaths from the floods, while more than 5,000 people remain missing.

The disaster has also affected neighbouring Tibet, where Chinese authorities have reported 21 deaths and 541 people missing.

With the successful rescue of Sah and Maharjan, emergency teams are continuing their efforts to reach others still unaccounted for.

Nepal’s Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina expressed hope for further breakthroughs, saying: “We are waiting for the rescue of more and more people.”