Rescue Efforts Continue in Nepal as Two Workers Pulled Alive from Hydropower Tunnel

Kathmandu, Nepal — On Friday, rescue teams in Nepal successfully extracted two workers from a hydropower tunnel, while efforts persist to save others feared trapped inside. The dramatic rescue unfolded nine days after floods, caused by a potentially collapsed glacier, ravaged parts of Nepal.

The two men, identified as a mechanical foreman and supervisor, were retrieved from the Trishuli 3A tunnel. This rescue comes after Nepalese lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane shared news of a second rescue on Facebook, soon after Army Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet verified the first rescue. The floods and resulting mudslides struck the Bhotekoshi River area in Rasuwa on August 26, 2026.

Following the discovery of voices inside the tunnel on Friday morning, rescue teams pinpointed the trapped individuals’ locations. Neupane noted that contact with the trapped men indicated they were alive. Television reports depicted one mud-covered worker being carried to safety on a rescuer’s shoulder. Both rescued men were reported in stable health and were transported to a Kathmandu hospital for further treatment.

“I can’t explain what we are feeling at the moment. We are just grateful to god,” said Amir Maharjan, brother of one of the workers, Kabir Maharjan. The family was en route to the hospital to reunite with him. Kabir’s wife, Hirashova, shared her family’s relief with BBC News, saying they endured days of fear and are now overwhelmed with emotion.

The Trishuli 3A hydropower project still has 557 missing workers, with 115 believed to be in the main tunnel, the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal reports. Rescue operation visuals from Rasuwa show rescuers carrying survivors from the tunnel.

Officials, including Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina, express optimism about rescuing more individuals. Timilsina stated on Facebook that teams are hopeful for further successful rescues.

The floods have claimed at least 1,259 lives, with more than 5,000 missing across Nepal, according to the disaster management agency. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities reported 21 dead and 541 missing across the border in Tibet. The situation is dire, with approximately 900 workers unaccounted for from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, and around 500 may be trapped in tunnels.