– RASUWA, Nepal
On Friday, September 4, 2026, rescue teams pulled two hydropower workers alive from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A project in Nepal's Rasuwa district. The men had been trapped for nine days after violent flash floods triggered by a glacier collapse around August 26 buried parts of the site under mud, rocks, and debris. Sanjay Sah, 30 a mechanical foreman , and Kabir Maharjan, 45 a mechanical supervisor, were found about 170 meters deep inside after faint responses to the rescuers' calls were heard.
Personnel from the Nepal Army, supported by India, China, and other technical partners, worked for days to clear thick layers of mud and debris to reach them. They created a narrow passage along the upper section of the tunnel, allowing rescuers to crawl forward and establish contact. Sah was the first to be brought out, covered in mud but conscious; Maharjan followed shortly after. Both were quickly airlifted to a military hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.
Sah was reported to be in more stable condition, while Maharjan was in intensive care with limited mobility in his hands and legs. Both suffered injuries likely caused by their prolonged confinement and efforts to move within such a confined space. Upon emerging, one of the men asked what day it was, reflecting the disorientation experienced after more than a week underground. Later, teams recovered a body in the same area.
The floods unleashed a torrent of water, ice, and debris that swept through the Trishuli River valley near the Nepal-Tibet border, killing more than 1,200 people and leaving thousands missing. Hundreds of workers from various hydroelectric projects remain unaccounted for, and dozens may still be trapped in the Trishuli 3A tunnels. Search efforts are ongoing as teams supply oxygen to the remaining spaces and cautiously advance toward deeper areas, where voices were reportedly heard earlier.
This successful rescue has offered a rare moment of hope amidst a major disaster that devastated communities and infrastructure across the Himalayan region. Authorities report that operations are continuing as teams inspect other sections of the buried tunnels in search of potential additional survivors.