Tunnel rescue breakthrough: Two workers pulled alive nine days after flooding

Two hydroelectric workers have been rescued alive from a sealed tunnel at the Trishuli 3A construction facility in Nepal's Dhading district, nine days after glacier-triggered floods inundated the site. The successful extraction marks a critical breakthrough in rescue operations that have faced severe logistical challenges in remote mountain terrain.

International rescue teams conducting search operations in flooded tunnels across the disaster zone established contact with trapped workers and coordinated the extraction despite ongoing access difficulties. The rescue demonstrates sustained coordination between Nepalese authorities and international responders deployed across affected regions.

Over 900 hydroelectric workers remain missing from 12 hydropower projects across Nepal, with approximately 557 workers unaccounted for from the Trishuli 3A project alone. The recovery of two survivors provides a rare positive outcome in rescue operations, though displaced families in affected regions lack basic shelter and supplies, compounding humanitarian challenges in remote areas cut off by flooding and newly formed glacial lakes blocking access routes.