Two Tunnel Workers Rescued Alive After More Than a Week Trapped in Nepal

Rescuers in Nepal pulled two hydropower workers alive from a tunnel buried by debris, more than a week after catastrophic flooding swept through the area. Video released by the energy ministry showed rescuers cheering as one man emerged from a muddy opening and helped him to his feet.

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I am so happy, my heart is lighter.

The workers were identified as 30-year-old mechanical foreman Sanjay Shah and 45-year-old mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan. A photograph showed Maharjan covered in mud, his hands pressed together in prayer, as rescuers carried him away on an orange stretcher.

The two men were trapped at the Trishuli-3A Hydropower Project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district after a wall of mud and debris tore through the region on Aug. 26. Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha confirmed the rescue of the first worker, followed shortly by the second. Home Minister Sudan Gurung then announced that another person had been rescued.

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Don't worry, we are rescuing you.

Kabir Maharjan’s brother, Amir Maharjan, told AFP, “I am so happy, my heart is lighter.” The rescue came as searches continued at Trishuli-3A and other locations. Officials had initially said more than 100 workers might still be alive inside several tunnels.

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hunchha

The disaster has killed more than 1,250 people, while more than 5,000 remain missing, after a rock and ice avalanche sent a massive wave down the China-Nepal border. Australian rescue expert Arnold Dix, who has advised on tunnel-collapse operations, said teams believed they had heard a faint response from inside the tunnel. Rescuers called in, “Don't worry, we are rescuing you.” Dix said the response was reportedly “hunchha”, meaning yes or OK, and described the operation as a possible return to “miracle country.”

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Right now, I'm 'glass three-quarters full' ... After a week of 24/7 heartache, we might, just, be back in miracle country.