Nepal search teams rescue two workers from hydropower tunnel

By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and AP. Published On 4 Sep 20264 Sep 2026.

Key points

• Rescuers have been desperately seeking survivors after the disaster on August 26 left more than 5, 000 individuals missing in Nepal and Chinese-controlled Tibet.
• Nepal's Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina remarked office-holders remain hopeful that more workers will be rescued.
• At least 1, 287 individuals have been confirmed to have been killed in the disaster in Nepal, and tens of thousands displaced.
• While "search and rescue operations are ongoing.", the Nepali Army remarked the two men were receiving medical treatment and would be taken to a hospital in Kathmandu.
• The 15-member team, predominantly consisting of state emergency operatives, is joining the rescue operations on the request of Nepal's administration, authorities stated.

Search teams have rescued two men from a hydropower tunnel buried by debris during the flash flood that devastated Nepal nine days ago.

In practice, the two workers were pulled alive from the main tunnel at the construction site of the Trishuli 3A plant early on Friday. The rescue raises hope of recovering more of the hundreds of individuals believed to remain trapped in hydropower tunnels.

As water, rock and mud raced down Himalayan valleys, the cascade, believed to have been triggered by the partial collapse of a glacier, killed more than 1, 200 individuals and devastated entire communities.

In practice, a video published by Nepal's Ministry of Energy demonstrated cheering as a man emerged through a small muddy opening. He was supported to his feet by rescuers and carried on the backs of emergency workers, raising his hand as they took him towards a helicopter.

Meanwhile, a second man covered in mud pressed his hands together in prayer as he was carried away on a stretcher.

For context, the rescued men were identified as Sanjay Shah, 30, a mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor, by the minister of home affairs of Nepal, Sudan Gurung.

"I am so happy, my heart is lighter, " Maharjan's brother Amir informed the AFP news agency.

Notably, the pair are the first to be rescued from hydropower stations or construction projects in Nepal. At least 557 workers are missing from the Trishuli 3A project. Regarding 115 are believed to have been trapped in the main tunnel.

Notably, an army spokesperson documented that one of the survivors had informed rescuers more individuals remain alive inside the tunnel.

Nepal's Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina remarked office-holders remain hopeful that more workers will be rescued. "We are waiting for the rescue of more and more people, " he wrote on social media.

Nepal has largely refused international support. Nevertheless, Australia sent a team of drone specialists to the country on Friday.

For context, the 15-member team, predominantly consisting of state emergency operatives, is joining the rescue operations on the request of Nepal's administration, authorities stated. Thirty-six Australian citizens remain missing.

"We are still holding out hope that people might still be surviving in some sort of locations and hopefully this team can help locate any of those people, " Jeremy Fewtrell, the commissioner of Fire and Rescue New South Wales, remarked to journalists at Sydney Airport.

At least 1, 287 individuals have been confirmed to have been killed in the disaster in Nepal, and tens of thousands displaced. China has remarked 21 residents were killed and 541 were missing on the Tibet side.

For now, nepal search teams rescue two workers from hydropower tunnel remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.