Kathmandu, Sep 2026 : Rescue teams on Friday pulled two workers alive from a tunnel at the flood-hit Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project in Nepal, raising hopes that more people could still be trapped inside following last week’s devastating flash floods.
Nine days after a deadly flash flood swept through the Trishuli River corridor, causing widespread destruction and damaging several hydropower projects, rescuers managed to reach two employees who had remained trapped inside a tunnel at the 60 MW Upper Trishuli 3A project.
The Secretariat of the Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation identified the rescued workers as 45-year-old Kabir Maharjan, a supervisor with the Hydropower Automation Project of Upper Trishuli 3A from Kathmandu, and 30-year-old Sanjaya Sah, a foreman from Saptari district.
“They are being taken to hospital in Kathmandu after being airlifted,” the minister’s secretariat said.
According to the latest information from the rescue operation, Sah was brought out of the tunnel earlier on Friday, followed by Maharjan. The rescue came after teams working at the site heard voices from inside the tunnel and succeeded in establishing communication with people believed to be trapped there.
The Nepal Army and Armed Police Force subsequently intensified their operations to reach the workers. Rescue personnel reportedly communicated with those inside, asking them to remain calm while efforts continued to clear a path through the tunnel.
The successful rescue has raised hopes that additional workers could still be found alive in other affected structures and tunnels. Search and rescue teams have been operating under extremely difficult conditions since the floods struck the region.
The flash flood that swept through the Trishuli River valley on August 26 has caused a massive humanitarian disaster. According to the latest situation report released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, at least 1,252 people had died while 5,053 remained missing as of Thursday evening.
The floods also caused extensive damage to hydropower facilities and critical road infrastructure. Among the affected projects was the 60 MW Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, where rescue teams have been working to locate people who may have been trapped inside tunnels and other structures.
The minister’s secretariat said a joint rescue team comprising personnel from the Nepal Army and Armed Police Force, along with Chinese experts, has been deployed at the project site. The team is using five excavators, compressors and breakers, while tunnel drilling and holing operations have been intensified to create access to the affected section.
Rescuers also encountered a large rock blocking the tunnel. Blasting operations were carried out to remove the obstruction and facilitate further search and rescue efforts.
The floods affected infrastructure along the Trishuli and Bhotekoshi river systems, leaving several hydropower projects severely damaged.
Meanwhile, the Independent Power Producers’ Association said on Thursday that 945 people working across 11 hydropower projects affected by the floods remained out of contact, underscoring the scale of the ongoing rescue challenge.
