Sanjay Shah and Kabir Maharajan were rescued alive on Friday from the flooded Trishuli 3A hydropower tunnel in Nepal, nine days after flash floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border. The two men had survived more than a week inside the tunnel after a glacial collapse sent mud, water and debris through the area.
Arnold Dix, an Australian engineer and geologist advising Nepali authorities, called the rescue a major source of hope as teams continued searching for other workers.
Rescuers faced a flooded tunnel and unstable rock
The rescue team first had to identify the correct route to the Trishuli 3A power station. Vehicle-sized rocks blocked the way, leading rescuers to use explosives, a method Dix said could endanger people on the other side.
Once the team reached the tunnel, it found the passage filled with water and dug an emergency trench to help drain it. About 50 metres inside, rescuers heard a faint voice on Friday morning and called out: “Don’t panic, we are rescuing you.” A voice replied: “OK.” For additional context, see “Two Nepal hydropower workers pulled alive from flooded tunnel”.
About 40 workers are believed to remain trapped inside Trishuli 3A. Rescuers were tunnelling towards a section known as the “Goldilocks zone” at the top of the 11-storey power station, while facing the risk of water entering from ahead or behind.
Searches continue across damaged hydropower projects
More than 270 people have been rescued from various hydropower projects, but hundreds of employees working along Nepal’s Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers remain missing. Almost 30 hydropower projects were reported damaged in the floods. A related part of this story is covered in “Rescuers search hydropower tunnels after Nepal floods kill more than 1,270”.
Nepal’s disaster management agency reported 1,294 deaths and more than 5,000 missing people. In figures reported as of 4 September, Nepal listed 5,053 missing people, including 583 foreign nationals.
China reported 31 confirmed deaths and 531 missing people as of 5 September, including 261 foreign citizens. Thirty-eight Australian government officials, disaster response specialists and humanitarian workers were assisting in Nepal; a 15-person Australian Disaster Assistance Response Team arrived in Kathmandu late on Friday, and seven disaster victim identification specialists were due to leave Australia on Saturday. The development of this issue can be followed in “Nepal flood disaster leaves thousands missing as rescue access remains difficult”.
What happens next
Rescuers were continuing the operation at Trishuli 3A while working towards the upper section of the power station, and further Australian disaster victim identification specialists were due to leave Australia on Saturday.
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