Nine days after flash floods buried the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station tunnel in Nepal's Rasuwa district, two workers emerged from the earth alive — a reminder that survival can persist in the darkest places, and that the sound of a human voice is sometimes enough to turn despair into action. Kabir Maharjan and Sanjay Sah were pulled to the surface, their rescue made possible by the moment rescuers heard voices echoing from within the collapsed tunnel. Yet forty workers remain below, and the story of this disaster is far from its final chapter.
Two Workers Rescued Nine Days After Nepal Flash Floods; 40 Still Trapped
Two workers rescued after nine days; 40 people remain trapped in tunnel following flash floods in Nepal's Rasuwa district.
Voices from inside the tunnel changed everything.
Mark
Why does it matter that rescuers heard voices on day nine? Couldn't they have known people were alive before that?
Mimi
The voices changed everything. Before that, they were searching in darkness—literally and figuratively. Hearing actual people calling back meant the rescue teams could pinpoint where survivors were, how to reach them, what they were dealing with.
Luke
But we don't know how many of those voices they heard, or how clear the communication was. The report just says they "established contact." That could mean anything from a full conversation to muffled sounds.
Mark
The two men who came out—Maharjan and Sah—they were in there for nine days. How did they survive that long?
Mimi
The source doesn't say. We know they were pulled out covered in mud, which suggests the tunnel itself may have provided some shelter, but the actual conditions inside—water, air, food, anything—that's not reported.
Luke
Right. And we don't know if they were together the whole time, or if they were separated from the other forty. The rescue of two people doesn't necessarily tell us much about the situation the remaining forty are facing.
Mark
So forty people are still down there. Is that number confirmed, or is it an estimate?
Mimi
The report says "40 people are still reported to be trapped." That language—"reported to be"—suggests it's not a hard count. It could be an estimate based on who was supposed to be working that day.
Luke
Exactly. We don't know if that forty includes people who might have escaped on their own, or if it's based on a roster. And we don't know if the two who were rescued were part of that original forty or additional to it.
Mark
What does the Nepal Army actually have in terms of resources to get the other forty out?
Mimi
The report mentions "specialized equipment," but it doesn't specify what that is. Drilling equipment? Pumps? Excavators? We know they're coordinating with the Armed Police Force, so there's military-level organization, but the actual capability is vague.
Luke
And we don't know the physical layout of the tunnel, how deep it is, whether it's flooded, partially flooded, or drained. All of that would determine what equipment could actually work and how long a rescue would take.
O Pulso
- Flash floods struck Nepal's Rasuwa district with catastrophic force, sealing dozens of workers inside a hydropower tunnel for over a week with no confirmed sign of life.
- Nine days into the silence, rescuers heard voices — a discovery that transformed the operation from grim searching into urgent, targeted extraction.
- Mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan, 45, and foreman Sanjay Sah, 30, were pulled from the mud-caked darkness, their emergence captured in videos that spread rapidly across social media.
- The Nepal Army and Armed Police Force have intensified coordinated operations, deploying specialized equipment to push deeper into the tunnel system.
- Forty people remain trapped underground, their survival unconfirmed but possible — and the race against time, deteriorating conditions, and silence has only grown more urgent.
Nine days after flash floods buried the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station tunnel in Nepal's Rasuwa district, two workers emerged from the earth alive — a reminder that survival can persist in the darkest places, and that the sound of a human voice is sometimes enough to turn despair into action. Kabir Maharjan and Sanjay Sah were pulled to the surface, their rescue made possible by the moment rescuers heard voices echoing from within the collapsed tunnel. Yet forty workers remain below, and the story of this disaster is far from its final chapter.
Nine days after catastrophic flash floods tore through Nepal's Rasuwa district, two workers emerged alive from the collapsed tunnel of the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station — their survival a fragile mercy in a disaster that still holds forty others underground.
For more than a week, the fate of those trapped inside the tunnel system remained unknown. Rescue teams worked through the void of uncertainty until, on the ninth day, they heard something that changed the course of the operation: voices. The sound of living workers calling out from within the darkness became the turning point that guided Kabir Maharjan and Sanjay Sah back to the surface.
Maharjan, a 45-year-old mechanical supervisor, and Sah, a 30-year-old foreman, emerged covered in sediment and debris. Videos of their extraction circulated widely, showing rescue workers guiding mud-caked figures toward daylight. The Nepal Army's Public Relations Directorate confirmed their identities as operations continued.
The discovery of those voices galvanized the response. The Nepal Army and Armed Police Force intensified their efforts, bringing specialized equipment to bear on the task of reaching the remaining workers. The momentum built from that first contact has translated into coordinated, deepening action.
But the rescue of two men is only the opening of a story still unresolved. Forty people remain trapped inside the tunnel — their voices heard, their survival possible, their fate still uncertain. The operation has proven that the trapped can be reached. Now everything depends on whether that proof arrives in time.
Nine days underground in darkness and mud, Kabir Maharjan and Sanjay Sah emerged from the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station tunnel in Nepal's Rasuwa district, their bodies caked with sediment, their survival a small mercy in a disaster that has claimed the tunnel as a tomb for forty others still waiting below.
The flash floods that tore through Rasuwa district came with catastrophic force, trapping workers deep inside the hydropower project's tunnel system. For more than a week, the fate of those inside remained unknown—a void that rescue teams could only fill with dread and the mechanical work of searching. Then, nine days after the waters came, rescuers heard something that changed everything: voices from inside the tunnel. The sound of the trapped workers, still alive, still calling out. That contact, once established, became the turning point that would pull Maharjan and Sah back to the surface.
Maharjan, forty-five, had been working as a mechanical supervisor on the project. Sah, thirty, held the position of foreman. Both men emerged covered in the debris of the disaster, their extraction documented in videos that circulated across social media—images of rescue workers pulling mud-caked figures toward daylight and air. The Nepal Army's Public Relations Directorate confirmed their identities and roles as the rescue operation continued its work.
The discovery that voices could be heard from inside the tunnel galvanized the response. The Nepal Army and the Armed Police Force, already engaged in search and rescue efforts, intensified their operations. Specialized equipment was brought to bear on the problem of reaching the remaining trapped workers. The momentum that had built from hearing those first voices translated into coordinated action—teams working with the tools and knowledge required to penetrate deep into a tunnel system that had become a prison.
But the rescue of two men, however vital, is only the beginning of the story still unfolding. Forty people remain trapped inside. The voices that gave rescuers hope also confirmed the scale of the catastrophe: dozens of workers, still waiting, still alive somewhere in the darkness below. The operation that pulled Maharjan and Sah to safety has shown that rescue is possible, that the trapped can be reached. Now the race continues against time, against the unknown conditions inside the tunnel, against the possibility that those forty voices might fall silent.
Citações Notáveis
Rescuers heard voices from inside the tunnel and managed to establish contact with individuals believed to be trapped there— The Kathmandu Post (as reported)
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