Rescue crews in Nepal have pulled two workers out alive from a hydropower tunnel, nine days after devastating floods tore across the country, killing more than 1,000 people and leaving thousands still unaccounted for.
Nepalese lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane told The Associated Press that search teams heard men calling from inside the tunnel on Friday morning. Photos released by the Nepal Army showed one rescuer carrying a worker on his back as soldiers moved alongside to assist.
The discovery has fueled fresh hope that dozens of other people believed to be trapped underground may still be found alive. Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said one of the rescued workers reported that more people remain alive inside the tunnel, and that the search operation is continuing.
Soldiers rescue a worker alive from a tunnel during an ongoing operation at the Trishuli-3A hydropower project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district on Sept. 4, 2026. (Nepal Army via AP)
“I can’t explain what we are feeling at the moment. We are just grateful to God,” Amir Maharjan, the brother of one of the rescued workers, told the AP.
Both men were flown to a hospital in Kathmandu, and one of them was in critical condition, the AP reported, citing a statement from the prime minister’s office.
Officials identified them as a mechanical foreman and a mechanical supervisor at the Trishuli 3A plant.
On Sept. 4, 2026, a rescuer carried one of the workers who was trapped for days in the tunnel at the Trishuli-3A hydropower project. Soldiers flank him on either side. (Nepal Army via AP)
The AP reported that about 115 people are believed to remain trapped in the Trishuli 3A tunnel alone, citing the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.
In total, authorities say there are about 900 workers missing from 12 hydropower plants in Nepal, with about 500 of them believed to be trapped in tunnels.
Nepal’s Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina wrote on his Facebook page that officials “are waiting for the rescue of more and more people.”
“A heartfelt thank you to everyone who worked tirelessly day and night to rescue two people alive!” Timilsina added.
One of the workers, covered in mud, is lifted out of the tunnel by rescue teams on Sept. 4, 2026. (Nepal Army via AP)
The AP reported that at least 1,287 people have been killed and more than 5,000 remain missing after the Aug. 26 floods, which scientists believe were likely triggered by a glacier collapse.
China said on Wednesday that on the Tibet side of the border, 21 people were killed and 541 are missing.
Nepal’s disaster agency chief told Reuters on Friday that the flooding has likely caused at least 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees (about $2.5 billion) in damage to infrastructure and property.