Nepal search teams rescue two workers from hydropower tunnel

What the report says

Nepali search crews have rescued two workers from a hydropower tunnel at the Trishuli 3A project, where they had been trapped by debris after a flash flood struck the area nine days earlier, Al Jazeera reported on September 4, 2026. The rescue is being viewed by officials and relatives as a hopeful sign that others may still be alive inside damaged tunnels and construction sites in Nepal’s flood-hit Himalayan region.

According to the report, the men were brought out of the main tunnel early Friday and later identified by Nepal’s home affairs minister as Sanjay Shah, a 30-year-old mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, a 45-year-old mechanical supervisor. Video released by Nepal’s energy ministry showed rescuers pulling one man through a muddy opening and carrying both survivors to a helicopter or stretcher for medical care. The Nepali Army said the two were being treated and would be transferred to Kathmandu, while rescue operations continued.

The article said the flood disaster, which hit on August 26, has left more than 1,200 people dead and thousands missing across Nepal and Chinese-controlled Tibet. At the Trishuli 3A site alone, authorities believe many workers remain unaccounted for, including dozens thought to be inside the main tunnel. Nepal has mostly declined foreign assistance, though Australia sent a 15-member drone specialist team to help locate missing people. The rescue matters because it offers rare evidence that survival is still possible in a disaster zone where the death toll and missing-person count remain very high.