Two workers rescued alive from Nepal hydropower tunnel after nine days

Two people were pulled out alive on Friday (September 4) from a tunnel linked to a hydropower station on the Trishuli River, nine days after an ice, rock and mud slide swept through a valley in Nepal, killing more than 1,200 people and displacing tens of thousands.

The two workers pulled from the tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station are Sanjay Sah, a mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor, Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha’s office said in a statement.

Officials and rescue workers believe the August 26 collapse of a glacier on the upper reaches of the Trishuli River trapped at least 900 people in tunnels linked to six hydropower projects along the river.

Maharjan cannot move his hands or legs, but Sah’s injuries are not critical, an aide to the energy minister told Reuters.

The two workers are being taken to a hospital in Kathmandu, he said.

Amir Maharjan, Kabir’s brother, said he had not received any official news but had been told to go to the hospital.

“I have been hearing in the news that my brother has been found. The entire family is very happy,” Amir said.