Rescue teams in Nepal have pulled three workers alive from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project, nine days after catastrophic floods swept through the Himalayas. The rescues, which came after rescuers heard voices from inside the debris-filled tunnel, have offered a glimmer of hope as hundreds of workers remain missing across the country.
The first two survivors, identified as Sanjay Sah, a 30-year-old mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, a 45-year-old mechanical supervisor, were brought out on Friday. The Nepali army said both men were flown to a military hospital in Kathmandu. One was suffering from mild hypothermia but was able to communicate clearly, while the other's condition was initially described as unclear by an army spokesman. A third worker, a Chinese national, was rescued on Saturday from a different section of the tunnel, according to a statement from the prime minister's office. The army said he was pulled from a 225-metre tunnel and was undergoing a health assessment.
Survivor's account and the rescue effort
Sah, who worked at the plant's control room, described warning colleagues of a "serious dam breach" before the floodwater hit. "I was working in the control room. My responsibility was to save everyone's life," he told security personnel, according to the Daily Excelsior. He said he urged others to run but was unable to escape himself in time. After the rescue, he told security personnel he had been chanting the 'Hare Krishna' mantra while trapped, a detail also reported by The Times of India.
Rescuers from the army and police intensified efforts after hearing voices from inside the tunnel, lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane told the Kathmandu Post, as reported by The Canberra Times. The rescue team shouted, "Don't panic, we are here to rescue you," and received an "OK" in reply, according to reports. The operation at Trishuli 3A involved personnel from the Nepali army, with support from South Korean disaster experts, who worked through mud and boulders to reach the men, according to the prime minister's office.
The BBC reported that Colonel Jhabindra Reshmi said his teams had rescued more than 400 Nepali nationals and 270 foreign citizens following the flash flooding on 26 August. Engineers have been pumping air into the tunnels as rescue efforts continue.
A third rescue and broader search
The third survivor, a Chinese national, was rescued on Saturday from the same project. Images showed him being evacuated by helicopter, with an army medic checking on him during the flight. In a separate incident, a woman was pulled alive from a house in flood-hit Nuwakot town on Saturday, ten days after the floods hit the area, a Nepali army spokesperson said.
The floods, which originated in a glacial region of the Himalayas, have devastated numerous hydropower facilities, some still under construction. About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects across Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in various tunnels, according to authorities. The Times of India reported that officials believe around 41 workers could be trapped in the Trishuli 3A tunnel alone, though it is not clear if all are alive. The body of a third person was found in the tunnel on Friday, but could not be immediately identified, the BBC reported.
Official response and international aid
The death toll in Nepal had risen to 1,290 as of Friday, with almost 4,800 people still missing, including 601 foreign nationals, according to official figures. The number of missing people was estimated at 4,898, including more than 600 children in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, The Tribune reported. The Tribune also reported that at least 21 people died on the Chinese side, with more than 500 missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports.
More than 13,000 people have been rescued so far, according to Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, as reported by The Tribune. An Indian tunnel rescue team made a temporary track inside the Chilime tunnel in Rasuwa district to allow heavy equipment to reach affected areas, the report added.
The European Commission said 82 tonnes of essential relief supplies from EU stocks were flown into Nepal on Friday, PerthNow reported. Australian disaster response specialists also left for Nepal on Friday, with the Albanese government expressing 'serious concerns' for the welfare of its missing citizens, according to The Canberra Times.
Uttam Bhlon Lama, vice president of the Independent Power Producers of Nepal, told the BBC's Newsday programme that the rescue of the two men on Friday would "motivate the rescuers to do more," but warned that "the flood level is still very high."