"Rescued After Saving Colleagues"... Two Workers Pulled from Nepal Tunnel After 9 Days

Machinery Team Leader Rescued from Plant
Endured in Tunnel by Reciting Prayers
Possibility of Additional Survivors Inside Tunnel Raised

Two workers trapped in the tunnel of a hydropower plant in Nepal were dramatically rescued after nine days. It has been reported that one of the rescued employees missed the chance to escape at the time of the accident because he was helping other workers evacuate first.

On the 4th (local time), soldiers were conducting rescue operations in the Trishuli-3A Hydroelectric Power Plant tunnel in the Rasuwa region of Nepal, successfully rescuing one worker alive. Photo by AP Yonhap News

According to local media outlets such as the Kathmandu Post and other foreign media on the 4th (local time), two workers, Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan, were rescued alive that day from the tunnel of the Trishuli-3A Hydroelectric Power Plant in Nuwakot. They had been trapped in the tunnel since a sudden flood struck the Trishuli valley on August 26.

Sanjay Sah, who was the head of the machinery team, was working in the plant’s control room at the time of the incident. After being rescued, he told Nepalese military medical personnel, "It was my responsibility to save everyone's lives," and added, "I told the others to run and escape first."

Nepalese soldiers are conducting a rescue operation and have saved one worker alive. Photo by AP Yonhap News.

He explained that while helping the other workers evacuate, he missed his own opportunity to escape. Sah said, "I shouted at everyone to run. As a result, time was delayed and I ultimately couldn't get out." It is reported that while waiting to be rescued in the tunnel, he endured by reciting prayers.

Sah also raised the possibility that there may still be other survivors inside the tunnel. He said, "I communicated with three or four people nearby, through words or sounds," and explained, "The tunnel is very long, so there may be more people deeper inside, especially around the plant." He added that it is possible that workers were swept deeper into the tunnel by the strong current of the floodwaters.

The Kathmandu Post reported that the two rescued that day were the first survivors found after nine days since the disaster occurred. Nepalese authorities are continuing rescue operations in search of workers who may still remain within the tunnel.

In Devighat, Nuwakot District, Nepal, rescuers are installing a temporary zipline to cross the Trishuli River, which was affected by floods and landslides. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

Rescuers in Nepal have believed that hundreds of staff members were isolated in various hydropower plant tunnels and have continued search operations. In particular, they have concentrated their rescue efforts on two plants, including Trishuli-3A, estimating that about 90 employees may still be trapped alive in the tunnels of these plants.

The Trishuli-3A facility is located downstream of the Trishuli River from the Upper Trishuli (UT)-1 Hydroelectric Power Plant, where nine missing Korean employees were working. The two sites are about 6 kilometers apart.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.