'Layer upon layer of miracles': How Nepal flood survivors were rescued from tunnel

What the report says

BBC World News reports that rescuers in Nepal overcame a series of difficult obstacles to reach two men trapped in a blocked hydropower tunnel after last week’s flash flood on the Nepal-Tibet border. The tunnel, connected to the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station, was buried so completely that teams first had to locate where the entrance had been before they could begin digging.

Arnold Dix, a tunnelling expert advising Nepal’s hydropower authorities, told the BBC that rescuers used engineering methods, old maps, satellite images and helicopter footage to triangulate the entrance. Once inside, they found the tunnel packed with mud, rocks and water. In some places, rocks were reportedly as large as cars, and explosives were used carefully to clear the route while Nepalese army personnel helped manage the risks.

Rescuers also dug trenches to drain water from the tunnel and created a narrow passage through debris near the top of the structure. In the early hours of Friday, they heard voices and then brought out Sanjaya Shah and Kabir Maharjan alive. BBC’s source says the operation remains ongoing, with many others still believed to be trapped and the team continuing to push deeper into the mountain.

The rescue matters because the flood has caused widespread devastation in the region, and the tunnel operation highlights both the dangers facing trapped workers and the complexity of mountain rescue in flooded industrial sites.