Two people have been pulled out alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal nine days after deadly flash floods left them trapped.
The workers were rescued during an ongoing operation at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, a hydropower project in one of the areas worst-affected by last week’s deadly Nepal floods, according to army spokesperson Brig Gen Raja Ram Basnet.
Local television news channels showed images of the first recovered survivor covered in mud and being carried from the site on a rescuer’s shoulder.
Sanjay Shah was the first to be rescued and was taken to the Nepal Army barracks in Trishuli. Subsequently, another person, identified as Kabir Maharjan, was also rescued from the tunnel. They were rescued from a depth of 170 metres inside the tunnel confirmed Basnet.
Sanjay Shah was foreman at Upper Trishuli 3A and Kabir Maharjan was a supervisor.
Most of the hydropower projects along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers were destroyed when a surge of water, debris and mud came coursing down the valley last week, triggered by the collapse of a melting glacier on the border between Nepal and China-controlled Tibet.
Rescue efforts have increasingly centred on the hydropower tunnels, where authorities believe workers may have survived for more than a week due to air pockets. So far, more than 270 people have been rescued.
At the Upper Trishuli 3A facility, it took rescue workers almost six days to find the tunnels because of the thick mud.
Army and specialist teams have been working round the clock to try and clear mud and heavy boulders from the tunnel entrance. It was confirmed that voices of multiple people had been heard inside after a breakthrough was made on early Friday morning.
After the rescue team called out, “Don’t panic, we are rescuing you,” they received a response from inside: “Okay.”
At least 557 workers are missing from the hydropower project along the Trishuli River, with about 115 believed to be trapped in the main tunnel, according to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.
In total, local authorities estimate around 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects high up in the Himalayas, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels,
