Rescue teams in Nepal pulled two men alive from a hydropower tunnel on Friday, September 4, nine days after a flood hit the Himalayan region. The survivors, identified as mechanical foreman Sanjay Sah, 30, and mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan, 45, were found at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant in the Rasuwa district. Both men were airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.
The rescue follows a deluge on August 26 that was reportedly triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse on the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet region. According to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Authority, at least 1,294 people have been confirmed dead and more than 5,000 remain missing.
Rescue officials stated that they were able to pinpoint the survivors after hearing voices from inside the tunnel. Sanjay Sah told rescuers that he stayed behind in the control room to help evacuate others before he was trapped. The Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal reports that approximately 115 people are still believed to be trapped in that specific tunnel, while more than 900 workers are missing from about a dozen hydropower projects in the country.
The scale of the economic impact is estimated by Nepal’s disaster agency at 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees, which translates to approximately $2.5 billion in damage to property and infrastructure. Rescuers are using controlled blasts and heavy machinery to reach remaining trapped individuals, but progress is slowed by remote terrain and concerns regarding air quality and water access for those still underground.
A national day of mourning is scheduled for September 7, during which government offices and embassies will fly the national flag at half-staff. In addition to the casualties in Nepal, Chinese officials report at least 31 deaths and 531 people missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county. While the primary road to the Tibet site reopened on Wednesday, September 2, search and recovery efforts continue in both countries as teams navigate tons of water and debris to locate more than 5,500 people who remain missing across the region.