POKHARA, Nepal — Two workers in Nepal were pulled alive from a hydroelectric tunnel on Friday, nine days after devastating floods devastated the Himalayan region and left thousands dead or missing. In a rare ray of hope, emergency crews rescued two men: a mechanical foreman named Sanjay Sah, 30, and a mechanical supervisor named Kabir Maharjan, 45, according to Nepal’s military and the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. One body was also recovered, the Nepal Army said.00:33Two survivors of Nepal floods rescued from hydropower tunnel 00:0000:00Rescue officials said the voices of other workers could be heard inside the tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant along the Trishuli River in Nepal’s border Rasuwa district. At least 557 workers are still believed to be missing there, and around 115 are believed to be trapped in the main tunnel, according to the Nepal Independent Power Producers Association. In a video shared by Nepalese authorities, Sah said he spent his days trapped underground “chanting mantras to give me hope” while listening to others trapped and calling for help. Sah said the “primary duty” of his job is to “safeguard everyone’s lives,” adding that there were between 40 and 50 people in the tunnel at the time of the incident. “I made sure to evacuate everyone else, but I didn’t have a chance to escape myself,” he said, speaking from the hospital in the video. He said there could still be other survivors on their side of the tunnel, while there could be workers on the power station side of the tunnel “who didn’t make it out in time.” The Nepal Army posted images of the dramatic rescue on its official Facebook page, including one showing the first rescued worker covered in mud and being carried from the scene on a rescuer’s shoulder. “When hope is alive, even the impossible becomes possible,” the caption of the image read. The rescue operation at the Trishuli 3A hydroelectric project Friday. Nepalese military officials said both men were flown to a hospital in Kathmandu, the capital, for treatment. “I can’t explain what we feel right now. We are just grateful to God,” Amir Maharjan, brother of one of the rescued workers, told The Associated Press. He said the family was on their way to the hospital to see him. 75 military personnel, 18 police officers and multiple experts have participated in the large-scale operation, the military said. Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said one of the survivors told rescuers that there were still more people alive inside the tunnel. “We are waiting for the rescue of more and more people,” Communications Minister Bikram Timilsina wrote on his Facebook page. More than 900 workers are missing at about a dozen hydropower projects in Nepal, and about 500 are believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to local officials. and bad weather added to the difficulties. The floods damaged roads and collapsed sections of tunnels, filling them with mud and other debris and blocking some entrances. With the help of foreign experts, rescue teams have been working around the clock using controlled explosions, excavators and earth-moving equipment to try to reach trapped workers amid concerns about air quality in the tunnels and workers’ access to drinking water. Nepal’s military said on Friday that a separate rescue effort had recovered two bodies from a tunnel at the Langtang Hydroelectric Project. Rescuers first heard voices from inside the tunnel on Friday morning. Nepalese army authorities in Nepal say at least 1,294 people have died and more than 5,000 are still missing after the August 26 disaster, which is believed to have been caused by the collapse of a high-altitude glacier on the border between Nepal and the Chinese region of Tibet. Nepal’s disaster agency estimated Friday that the floods caused at least 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees ($2.5 billion) in damage to infrastructure and property. Nepalese authorities said a national day of mourning will be held on September 7 to honor those who lost their lives during the flood. The national flag will fly at half-mast at government offices and Nepalese embassies and missions abroad. Rescue efforts are also underway in China, where a landslide affected a major land crossing between the two countries, and the only road to the site in Gyirong county in Tibet was only fully reopened on Wednesday. Chinese officials say at least 31 people have died and 531 are missing on the Tibetan side of the border. More than 800 foreigners are among those missing in the area, which is popular with hikers and pilgrims. According to the State Department, 75 Americans remained missing as of Wednesday, while 16 had managed to reach safety. Sunil Pandey reported from Pokhara, Nepal, and Adela Suliman from London.
