Rescue from a Buried Hydropower Tunnel: Two Survivors After Nine Days

A sudden collapse of glacial ice and a wall of water and debris swept through Nepal’s Trishuli valley on August 26, leaving whole communities buried and dozens of infrastructure sites damaged. The catastrophe has been linked to the collapse upstream of a glacier, and more than 1,200 people have been reported killed while thousands remain unaccounted for. Multiple hydropower projects along the Trishuli and Bhotekoshi rivers were hit, and rescuers focused on tunnels where workers could have been trapped.

After nine days of searching, two workers were extracted alive from a mud-filled tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower project. The men were found roughly 40 to 60 metres inside the passage after teams drained water, cleared rock and mud, and used maps, satellite imagery and as-built drawings to narrow the search. At times explosives were used to clear large boulders, but rescuers halted heavy blasting as they neared likely survivor areas and finished the last metres with hand tools. Foreign rescue specialists and Nepal Army engineers advised and worked alongside local teams during the operation.

The survivors were identified as Sanjay Sah, a 30-year-old mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor. Sah later told medical staff that he kept his spirits up by chanting mantras while he waited for help; Maharjan was in critical condition and receiving care. Officials have said many workers remain missing across several projects, with hundreds reported missing at the Trishuli 3A site alone, and recovery efforts continue under dangerous conditions.

The successful extraction of two men has renewed cautious hope, yet it also underlines the urgent challenges of rescuing people from deep, debris-clogged tunnels. Rescue teams are balancing speed with safety as they probe the buried infrastructure for signs of life.