In a rare glimmer of hope amid the devastation that swept Nepal’s Himalayan region on Aug. 26, emergency teams rescued two male workers from the Trishuli 3A hydropower tunnel on Friday. The survivors – mechanical foreman Sanjay Sah, 30, and mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan, 45 – were pulled from the mud‑filled tunnel after nine days of searching.
Rescue effort and ongoing search
The rescue was carried out by Nepal’s army in coordination with the National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Authority. Army officials released photos on their official Facebook page showing the first rescued worker covered in mud and being carried on a rescuer’s shoulder. Both men were air‑lifted to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.
According to the army, the voices of other workers could still be heard inside the tunnel. “We are waiting for the rescue of more and more people,” Nepal’s communication minister Bikram Timilsina wrote on his Facebook page.
Scale of the disaster
The Trishuli River flood, triggered by a high‑altitude glacier collapse on the Nepal‑China border, killed at least 1,287 people and left more than 5,000 missing, according to local officials. The disaster has crippled dozens of hydropower projects across the country. More than 900 workers are missing from about a dozen sites, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels.
Rescuers face daunting challenges: remote, mountainous terrain, ongoing bad weather, collapsed tunnel sections and blocked entrances. They are using controlled blasts, excavators and earth‑moving equipment, aided by foreign experts, to reach those still trapped while monitoring air quality and water supplies.
International impact
The flooding also affected China’s Tibet region, where a mudslide closed the major land crossing at Gyirong county. Chinese officials report at least 21 deaths and 541 missing on the Tibetan side.
Among the missing are more than 800 foreign nationals, many of whom were trekkers or pilgrims. The U.S. State Department says 75 Americans remain unaccounted for, while 16 have already reached safety.
Family response
Amir Maharjan, brother of one of the rescued workers, told the Associated Press, “I can’t explain what we are feeling at the moment. We are just grateful to God.” The family is on its way to Kathmandu to be with the survivors.
The rescue underscores the perseverance of Nepal’s emergency responders and the hope that more lives will be saved as the search continues.
Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.
