KATHMANDU — In a remarkable story of survival against all odds, rescue crews in Nepal pulled two workers alive from a submerged hydropower tunnel on Friday, nearly ten days after sudden, catastrophic flash floods inundated northern and central parts of the country.
The survivors—identified as Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor, and Sanjay Sah, 30, a project foreman—were trapped underground inside the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project after a wall of water and debris blocked the entrance on August 26.
The breakthrough came early Friday morning when emergency responders detected faint human voices echoing from inside the subterranean shaft. Nepal Army units and Armed Police Force personnel, operating heavy equipment and specialized detection gear, immediately intensified their digging and breaching operations toward the source of the noise.
Shortly after establishing voice contact, rescue teams breached the trapped section and pulled the men to safety. Television footage from the scene showed one of the workers, caked in heavy mud and sludge, being carried out of the dark tunnel mouth on the shoulders of a soldier before being handed over to awaiting medical personnel.
Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha confirmed the successful recovery, stating that the first worker was safely brought out before a second survivor was extracted moments later. Medical teams on-site immediately provided emergency stabilization before transporting both men to a hospital for full clinical evaluation and treatment.
The disaster struck late last month after an ice-rock avalanche and glacier collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border triggered sudden, violent flooding along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river basins. The surging waters swept away houses, bridges, and infrastructure across multiple districts, leaving over 1,200 people dead and more than 5,000 missing.
According to disaster management officials, Nepal’s hydropower sector took a heavy blow, with around 900 workers unaccounted for across 12 power sites and roughly 500 believed to be trapped in subterranean tunnels.
Friday’s miracle rescue at the Trishuli 3A site has injected renewed urgency into searching other affected hydro projects across Nuwakot, Rasuwa, and neighboring districts, as military and civilian search crews push through toxic sludge and heavy silt in the hope of finding more survivors.
