Nine days after a glacier collapse unleashed catastrophic floods across Nepal and Tibet, two workers were pulled alive from a hydropower tunnel — a fragile but luminous sign that survival is still possible amid one of the region's most devastating disasters in recent memory. The August 26 event has claimed at least 1,259 lives, left more than 5,000 missing, and trapped hundreds of workers inside the tunnels of twelve hydropower projects. In the vast arithmetic of loss, the rescue of Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan does not balance the ledger, but it reminds us that hope, like water, finds its wa
Two workers rescued from Nepal hydropower tunnel 9 days after devastating floods
Two workers rescued after 9 days trapped in tunnel; one paralyzed from the waist down. At least 1,259 people killed in Nepal and Tibet floods with over 5,000 missing.
The entire family is very happy
Mark
Why does it matter that these two specific workers were found? Is it just the human interest angle, or does this tell us something about the scale of the disaster?
Mimi
It matters because it breaks the silence. For nine days, two people were trapped in darkness in a tunnel. The fact that they survived tells us something about the conditions—that air pockets exist, that rescue is possible even after a week. But it also matters because it's two out of roughly 500 people still trapped in similar tunnels.
Luke
Do we know how they survived nine days? What were they eating, drinking, breathing? The source doesn't say.
Mimi
No, it doesn't. We know they were rescued and that one has severe spinal injuries. The other's condition is stable. But the mechanics of survival—that's still a gap in what we know.
Mark
And the broader picture—1,259 dead, 5,000 missing. How does that compare to other natural disasters in the region?
Mimi
It's enormous. This was a glacier collapse that sent floods through entire valleys. Nepal and Tibet together have suffered a catastrophic loss. But the source doesn't give us historical comparison, so I can't say whether this is the worst in a decade or the worst in a century.
Luke
The source says the floods were "likely caused" by a glacier collapse. That's attribution to someone's assessment, not confirmed fact. We should be careful about how certain we sound about the cause.
Mark
Fair point. So what happens next for these 500 trapped workers?
Mimi
That's the question. The rescue operation is ongoing, but the source doesn't tell us the timeline, the resources being deployed, or whether international aid is arriving. We know China is coordinating on their side of the border, but beyond that, the forward picture is unclear.
Der Puls
- A glacier's sudden collapse on August 26 sent walls of water through Nepal's valleys, killing over 1,259 people across Nepal and Tibet and leaving more than 5,000 unaccounted for.
- The hydropower sector bore a concentrated blow — roughly 900 workers are missing from 12 projects, with around 500 believed to be alive but trapped inside flooded tunnels.
- After nine days in darkness, mechanical foreman Sanjay Sah and supervisor Kabir Maharjan were extracted from the Upper Trishuli 3A tunnel — one stable, the other paralyzed from the waist down.
- Maharjan's family learned of his rescue not from officials but from television news, his brother saying simply: 'The entire family is very happy.'
- Rescue operations continue across the region with international coordination involving China, but the scale of what remains unknown dwarfs the relief of what has been found.
Nine days after a glacier collapse unleashed catastrophic floods across Nepal and Tibet, two workers were pulled alive from a hydropower tunnel — a fragile but luminous sign that survival is still possible amid one of the region's most devastating disasters in recent memory. The August 26 event has claimed at least 1,259 lives, left more than 5,000 missing, and trapped hundreds of workers inside the tunnels of twelve hydropower projects. In the vast arithmetic of loss, the rescue of Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan does not balance the ledger, but it reminds us that hope, like water, finds its way through the narrowest of passages.
Nine days after a glacier collapse sent catastrophic floods through Nepal's valleys, rescue workers pulled two men alive from a hydropower tunnel. Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan had been trapped inside the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station since the August 26 disaster struck. Their extraction, confirmed by Nepal's energy minister's office, offered a rare moment of hope in a search operation that has grown grimmer by the day.
Sah's injuries were not considered critical, but Maharjan's condition was far more severe — he cannot move his hands or legs. Both were transported to a hospital in Kathmandu. The first worker pulled from the site was photographed covered in mud, carried on a rescuer's shoulder, an image broadcast across the country by local television channels.
For Maharjan's family, the news arrived through media reports before any official word reached them. His brother Amir said he had been told to go to the hospital but learned of the rescue only through the news. 'The entire family is very happy,' he said.
The two rescues represent a narrow opening in a disaster of staggering scale. The August 26 floods killed at least 1,259 people across Nepal and Tibet, with more than 5,000 still missing. China reported separately that 21 were killed and 541 remain missing on the Tibetan side of the border.
The hydropower sector has been hit with particular force. About 900 workers are missing from 12 projects across Nepal, with local authorities believing roughly 500 are trapped inside tunnels. The survival of Sah and Maharjan proves that life can endure in those confined, flooded spaces — but it also sharpens the weight of how many others remain unaccounted for.
Nine days after a glacier collapse sent catastrophic floods through Nepal's valleys and towns, rescue workers pulled two men alive from a hydropower tunnel on Friday. Sanjay Sah, a mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor, had been trapped inside the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station when the August 26 disaster struck. The energy minister's office confirmed their extraction, marking a rare piece of hope in a search operation that has grown grimmer by the day.
Sah emerged from the tunnel with injuries that were not considered critical. Maharjan's condition was far more severe. He cannot move his hands or legs, according to an aide to Nepal's energy minister who spoke with Reuters. Both men were being transported to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment. The first worker to be pulled from the site was photographed covered in mud, carried from the rescue location on a rescuer's shoulder—an image that local television news channels broadcast across the country.
The rescue unfolded in stages. Army spokesperson Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet confirmed the first extraction during the operation. Shortly after, Nepali politician Shri Ram Neupane posted news of the second rescue on Facebook. For Kabir Maharjan's family, the announcement came through the news before any official word reached them. His brother, Amir Maharjan, said he had been told to go to the hospital but had heard about the rescue only through media reports. "I have been hearing from the news that my brother has been found," he said. "The entire family is very happy."
These two rescues represent a narrow opening in a disaster of staggering scale. The August 26 floods, likely triggered when a glacier collapsed, killed at least 1,259 people across Nepal and Tibet. More than 5,000 remain missing. The disaster management agency in Nepal has documented the scale of the catastrophe; China reported separately that 21 people were killed and 541 were missing on the Tibetan side of the border.
The hydropower sector has been hit with particular force. About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects across Nepal. Local authorities believe roughly 500 of them are trapped inside tunnels—the same kind of confined, flooded spaces where Sah and Maharjan spent nine days. The rescue of these two men demonstrates that survival is possible, but it also underscores how many others remain unaccounted for, their fates still unknown as search and rescue operations continue across the region.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
I have been hearing from the news that my brother has been found. The entire family is very happy.— Amir Maharjan, brother of rescued worker Kabir Maharjan
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