Two Workers Rescued Alive From Collapsed Nepal Tunnel
Two workers were rescued alive from a flooded Nepali hydropower tunnel nine days after devastating floods killed over 1,259 people and left thousands missing across the Himalayan nation.
The two men were pulled from the Trishuli 3A tunnel nine days after disaster struck on August 26, when floods believed to have been triggered by a glacier collapse swept through towns and villages across Nepal, according to Washington Examiner.
Nepalese lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane confirmed the second rescue through his Facebook page shortly after army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet announced the first worker had been brought to safety. Officials identified the rescued men as a mechanical foreman and a mechanical supervisor, both of whom were placed under medical observation following their extraction.
Local television footage captured the first rescued worker being carried from the tunnel site on a rescuer’s shoulder, his body caked in mud after more than a week trapped underground.
Hundreds Still Trapped Underground
The rescue operation continues as emergency teams work to reach others believed to be alive inside the tunnel system. At least 557 workers remain missing from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project along the Trishuli River, with approximately 115 thought to be trapped in the main tunnel, according to data from the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.
Officials at the rescue site maintain cautious optimism that additional survivors may still be found inside the tunnel structure.
Nepal’s Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina expressed hope for further rescues in a Facebook post, stating authorities are waiting for the rescue of more and more people, as Washington Examiner reports.
Devastating Death Toll Continues to Mount
The August 26 floods have claimed at least 1,259 lives across Nepal, with more than 5,000 people still unaccounted for, according to the country’s disaster management agency. The catastrophe has impacted communities on both sides of the border, with China reporting 21 dead and 541 missing in Tibet as of late Wednesday.
The disaster has struck Nepal’s hydropower sector particularly hard, with approximately 900 workers missing from 12 different hydropower projects across the country. Local authorities estimate that roughly 500 of these workers are believed to be trapped inside various tunnel systems.
Rescue operations remain ongoing as teams race against time to locate and extract any remaining survivors from the devastated infrastructure projects.
With information from Washington Examiner
