Alexander Sullivan:
Search and rescue teams in Nepal successfully pulled two laborers alive from a buried hydropower tunnel on September 4, 2026, nine days after devastating flash floods swept through the region. The breakthrough has ignited hope of finding more survivors among the hundreds of workers trapped beneath debris.
The survivors were identified as Sanjay Shah, 30, a mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor. Both men were extracted through a narrow opening in the main tunnel at the Trishuli-3A Hydropower Project site in Rasuwa district. Nepali Army personnel transported the mud-covered survivors toward waiting helicopters for emergency medical transit to Kathmandu. Military officials noted that one of the survivors reported other colleagues remain alive deeper inside the shaft.
The disaster, which began on August 26, 2026, was triggered by the partial collapse of a Himalayan glacier that unleashed vast torrents of mud and rock. At least 1,294 people have been confirmed dead in Nepal, with more than 5,600 people missing across the border regions of Nepal and Chinese-controlled Tibet. At the Trishuli-3A site, roughly 115 workers were believed trapped inside the main conduit, while 557 workers remain missing project-wide.
Emergency personnel, bolstered by specialized drone teams from Australia, are continuing intensive subterranean search operations.
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