Nepal tunnel miracle: two workers rescued alive after 9 days

KATHMANDU: In a remarkable rescue that has brought a rare moment of hope to disaster-hit Nepal, two hydropower workers were pulled alive from a mud-filled tunnel on Friday, nine days after catastrophic floods and landslides buried the facility.

The men, identified as 30-year-old mechanical foreman Sanjay Shah and 45-year-old mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan, were rescued from the tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station in Rasuwa district. Officials said they had been trapped since the devastating disaster on August 26.

Video released by Nepalese authorities showed rescuers working through a muddy opening before bringing one of the men to safety. The second worker was carried out on an orange stretcher, covered in mud, with his hands pressed together in what appeared to be a gesture of prayer.

For rescue teams, the breakthrough came after days of painstaking work through thick mud, rocks and debris.

Earlier on Friday, rescuers reported hearing a faint response from inside the tunnel. Australian tunnel-rescue expert Arnold Dix, who has been advising the operation, said teams had called into the tunnel to reassure those trapped that help was coming. A response indicating “yes” or “OK” raised hopes that survivors were still alive.

Within hours, those hopes became reality.

Nepal Army and specialist rescue teams had dug through roughly 50 to 60 metres of debris in their effort to reach the trapped workers. Authorities believe other people could still be alive inside the tunnel, prompting rescuers to continue the operation despite extremely difficult conditions.

The rescued workers were taken for medical treatment, with reports saying Shah’s injuries were not critical, while Maharjan suffered more serious physical trauma. Both were being transported towards Kathmandu for further treatment.

For Maharjan’s family, the rescue was an emotional turning point. His brother, Amir Maharjan, told AFP that he was overwhelmed with happiness after hearing that Kabir had been found alive.

The rescue comes as Nepal continues to deal with the enormous scale of the August 26 disaster, which sent a devastating surge of water, ice, rocks and mud through communities along the Trishuli River. More than 1,200 people have died, while thousands remain missing, according to the latest reports.

Around 900 hydropower workers are reportedly missing from 12 projects, with hundreds believed to remain trapped in tunnels.

The survival of Shah and Maharjan has therefore done more than save two lives. It has given rescue teams and anxious families a powerful reason to keep searching — and renewed hope that more people may yet emerge from the darkness.