Kathmandu, Nepal — On Friday, rescuers in Nepal successfully extracted two workers alive from a hydropower tunnel, as emergency teams continued their efforts to locate additional individuals who are presumed trapped within, according to officials.
The two men were retrieved from the Trishuli 3A tunnel nine days after severe flooding, likely triggered by a glacier collapse, wreaked havoc on towns and displaced villages across Nepal on August 26.
Nepalese legislator Shri Ram Neupane shared news of the second rescue on his Facebook account shortly after Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet, an army spokesperson, confirmed the rescue of the first trapped individual. The two workers have been identified as a mechanical foreman and a mechanical supervisor.
Rescuers reported hearing voices emanating from the tunnel early Friday morning, which indicated that survivors were present, leading to the successful location of the two men, Neupane stated.
Local news outlets broadcast footage of the first rescued worker, who was covered in mud and carried out on a rescuer’s shoulder. Officials reported that both individuals were in stable condition and were subsequently airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu.
“Words cannot express how we feel right now. We are simply thankful to God,” Amir Maharjan, the brother of one of the rescued men, Kabir Maharjan, told The Associated Press. He mentioned that the family was en route to the hospital to see him.
Kabir’s wife, Hirashova, expressed her relief to CBS News’s partner network, BBC News, stating, “We couldn’t eat or drink properly for ten days. We were terrified. Now, we are filled with joy and even tears.”
According to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal, at least 557 workers are unaccounted for from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project along the Trishuli River, with around 115 believed to be trapped in the main tunnel.
Officials at the rescue site have indicated a belief that additional individuals may still be alive within the tunnel.
Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina expressed optimism regarding the potential for further rescues, stating on his Facebook page, “We are eagerly awaiting the rescue of more individuals.”
The country’s disaster management agency reports that at least 1,259 people lost their lives in the floods, with over 5,000 still missing. In China, as of late Wednesday, 21 fatalities and 541 missing individuals were reported on the Tibetan side of the border.
Local authorities have indicated that about 900 workers are currently unaccounted for across 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, with an estimated 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels.
