KATHMANDU, Sept 4 - Two workers were pulled alive from a tunnel tied to the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station on Friday, nine days after an ice, rock and mud slide tore through a valley on the Trishuli River, killing more than 1,200 people and displacing tens of thousands.
Rescue details and identities
The Energy Minister's office released a statement identifying the two survivors as Sanjay Sah, a mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor. They were located within a tunnel that serves the hydropower facility and are being transported to a hospital in Kathmandu for further care.
An aide to the energy minister said Kabir Maharjan cannot move his hands and legs, while Sanjay Sah's injuries are not critical. The aide provided those medical condition updates to officials involved in the response.
Scope of the disaster and related concerns
Officials and rescue personnel believe the incident on August 26 began when a glacier collapsed in the upper reaches of the Trishuli River. That collapse is thought to have trapped at least 900 people in tunnels associated with six different hydropower projects along the river.
Authorities have been carrying out search and rescue operations in difficult terrain and within subterranean passages linked to hydropower infrastructure. The recent extraction of two survivors marks a significant development in those efforts but does not alter the broader reported human toll and displacement figures.
Family response
Amir Maharjan, the brother of Kabir Maharjan, said he had not yet received official confirmation but had been instructed to go to the hospital. "I have been hearing from the news that my brother has been found. The entire family is very happy," he said.
This rescue advances ongoing emergency operations centred on hydropower tunnels and valley access routes, with medical evacuations underway for the survivors.