Hope Turns to Joy as Two Tunnel Workers Are Rescued in Nepal

Two hydropower workers were pulled alive from a tunnel buried by debris in Nepal on Friday, offering a rare moment of hope on the tenth day of rescue efforts following catastrophic Himalayan flooding.

Rescuers cheered as one man emerged through a muddy opening, according to video released by the energy ministry. He was helped to his feet before being carried on the backs of emergency workers, raising his hand as they made their way toward a waiting helicopter. A photograph showed the second man covered in mud, hands pressed together in prayer, as rescuers carried him away on a stretcher.

Rescuers described the moment as a miracle following last Wednesday’s disaster, which has killed at least 1,200 people and left more than 5,000 missing across China and Nepal. “I am so happy, my heart is lighter,” said Amir Maharjan, brother of rescued worker Kabir Maharjan, 45, in comments to AFP.

Home Minister Sudan Gurung identified the two men as Sanjay Shah, 30, a mechanical foreman, and Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor. The Nepal Army confirmed that both men are receiving medical treatment, adding that search and rescue operations remain ongoing. They are among hundreds of hydropower workers who have been missing since a wall of mud and debris swept through the region on August 26, triggered by a massive glacial and rock collapse on a mountain along the China-Nepal border.

Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha confirmed the rescue took place at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, where searches continue alongside efforts at other affected sites. At least 12 hydropower projects were damaged or destroyed by the floods. The government had initially estimated that more than 100 workers could still be alive inside multiple tunnels.

Nepali rescuers, supported by experts from India, China, and South Korea, have continued searching for survivors believed trapped inside hydropower tunnels, though teams have repeatedly encountered walls of densely packed debris. Until Friday, no tunnel workers had been confirmed alive. Australian rescue expert Arnold Dix, who has been supporting the operation remotely, told AFP that efforts were “back in miracle country” following what he described as a week of constant heartache.

Earlier Friday, Dix said teams at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project believed they had detected a faint response from inside the tunnel. “They believe they received a faint response from inside saying, ‘hunchha,’ yes or OK,” said Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, adding that he was traveling to Nepal to join the rescue effort. He said rescuers had called into the tunnel to reassure anyone trapped inside, telling them help was on the way. Dix, who previously played a key advisory role in the successful 2023 rescue of 41 Indian workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel, said teams had dug through 50 to 60 meters of blocking debris and had been anticipating a breakthrough at any moment. Less than an hour later, rescuers pulled the two men to safety.

Amid the search, some Nepali families searching for missing loved ones had begun holding symbolic funerals in recent days, reflecting fading hope for additional survivors. Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal described the massive wave triggered by the rock and ice avalanche as a “Himalayan tsunami,” which tore through mountain districts, destroying roads, bridges, and multiple hydropower dams.

AFP reporters flying over the affected valley by helicopter on Thursday observed entire sections of settlements swept away, leaving the landscape resembling a puzzle missing several pieces, with once-picturesque villages of green paddy fields and homes now sitting alongside vast stretches of washed-away land. Communities near the epicenter remain cut off from the outside world.

The United Nations has warned that the sheer scale of the destruction is making aid delivery extremely difficult, with officials considering the use of cargo drones and porters to reach isolated communities. “Access has been very, very, very difficult,” said Lila Pieters Yahia, the UN’s chief representative in Nepal.

Nepal’s disaster authority reports that 1,259 bodies have been recovered, with 5,083 people still missing. In China, state media report 21 deaths and 541 people missing, bringing the overall toll to 1,280 dead and 5,624 missing. More than 800 foreign nationals from at least 34 countries are among those unaccounted for, including tourists and pilgrims present in both Nepal and Tibet at the time of the disaster.

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