Two workers trapped in a hydropower plant tunnel by Nepal's catastrophic flooding were dramatically rescued nine days after going missing. The confirmation of survivors has drawn attention to the possibility of rescuing dozens more believed to be stranded in tunnels at several power plants.
Nepali rescue teams found and rescued two Nepali workers while searching a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant in Bagmati Province in the country's north-central region on the 4th, according to Reuters and other outlets. Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said one person had just been rescued safely from the Trishuli 3A tunnel. Home Minister Sudan Gurung said in a statement that he had just received word another person had also been rescued.
The first worker rescued was identified as Sanjay Sah, the plant's mechanical foreman. The second survivor is mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan. Both have been taken to a hospital for treatment.
Ram Neupane, a Nepali lawmaker who has taken part in the search, told local media that teams were continuing to search after obtaining information that people may still be trapped inside the tunnel. He said that when voices were heard from inside the tunnel during the search, the rescue team shouted, "Don't panic. We are here to rescue you," and a reply came from inside: "Understood."
Video and photographs released by Nepali authorities showed Maharjan being pulled through an opening at ground level and carried out on a stretcher as onlookers cheered. Sah, his face caked in mud, was carried on a rescuer's back to a rescue tent. Amir Maharjan, the brother of Kabir Maharjan, told the Associated Press that he was simply grateful to God.
Sah, the first to be rescued, described the moment shortly after being brought out. "I was working in the control room. My responsibility was to save everyone's lives," he said. "I was trying to evacuate the others and could not get out myself." He said he shouted at everyone to run when the flood hit the plant, and in doing so missed his own chance to escape. Sah said he held on inside the tunnel by reciting Hindu mantras until he was rescued, adding that only three or four people nearby were able to speak or make sounds to communicate.
Rescue authorities are concentrating their search capacity on finding survivors trapped in the hydropower plant tunnels. At least 557 workers went missing at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant.
Australia's ABC, citing an Australian expert supporting the rescue operation, reported that survival for up to 17 days is possible. The Trishuli 3A plant is a structure reaching 33 meters in height, with a tunnel carrying river water at the lowest level and generating equipment along with a separate open space above it. Even if the lower part of the tunnel was destroyed by the torrent, workers who moved to the upper space could have survived because water and air remain there, according to the assessment.
Nepali authorities estimate that about 115 people are trapped in the tunnel, but mud blockages are hampering further rescue efforts. Amsu Kiran Shahi, a director at the Nepal Electricity Authority, told Reuters that he believes 46 people are trapped in a room-like structure inside the tunnel and that they may be alive because there is food and water in the building.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the flooding in Nepal has risen to at least 1,259 as of that day, according to Nepal's disaster management authority. Deaths on the Chinese side also increased to at least 21, bringing the overall toll to 1,280. A total of 5,624 people are missing, including 5,083 in Nepal and 541 in China.
