Two hydropower workers have been rescued alive after spending nine days trapped inside a tunnel following devastating floods in Nepal.
Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan were pulled to safety on Friday after becoming trapped at the Trishuli-3A Hydropower Project when ice, rocks and mud swept through the area on August 26.
Rescuers located the men after hearing their voices from inside the tunnel. Teams then drilled through the blocked passage, supplied oxygen and used heavy machinery to clear mud, rocks and debris.
In a rare move during the rescue, tactical explosives were used to clear wreckage blocking access to the workers.
Rescuers travelled about 180 metres through the damaged tunnel before reaching the pair.
Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor, was unable to move his hands and legs when he was brought out, while Sah suffered injuries that were not considered critical. Both were expected to be taken to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.
Maharjan’s wife said the family had been waiting anxiously for his return and described his rescue as receiving “a second life”.
Sah said he had been working in the control room when the flooding struck and initially focused on helping others escape.
“I told everyone to run. In doing that, my time was lost. In the end, I could not get out,” he told a medical team from the Nepali army.
While trapped, Sah said he spent his time reciting a mantra and waiting for rescuers to reach him.
The two men are the first workers to be rescued from the hydropower projects along the Trishuli River, where officials believe hundreds of people were trapped following the disaster.
Search-and-rescue operations remain underway as authorities continue looking for other possible survivors.
The floods have caused widespread destruction across Nepal, with more than 1,200 people reportedly killed and thousands still missing, according to officials cited in reports.
The rescue of Sah and Maharjan has provided a rare moment of hope amid one of Nepal’s worst recent flood disasters.