Nepal flood disaster rescue teams have received a remarkable boost after two hydropower workers were found alive nine days after catastrophic floods and mudslides devastated northern Nepal.
The men were rescued on Friday, 4 September, from the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, where huge quantities of water, mud, rock and debris had blocked access to underground areas.
The rescue has brought renewed hope to families desperately waiting for news of thousands of people who remain missing.
However, the wider picture remains devastating. As of 4 September, Nepalese authorities had reported 1,294 confirmed deaths and 5,053 people missing, including hundreds of foreign nationals.
HappeningNews previously reported on the growing threat shortly after the disaster began. Readers can also see our earlier report, “Standby for Nepalese Disaster,” for background on how the catastrophe unfolded.
Read our earlier HappeningNews report: Standby for Nepalese Disaster
Table of Contents
1. Two Workers Found Alive After Nine Days
The most hopeful development came when rescuers reached Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan, two workers trapped at the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower facility.
The men had been underground for nine days.
Sah was a mechanical foreman at the project, while Maharjan worked as a mechanical supervisor. They became the first workers rescued alive from the damaged hydropower projects since the disaster struck.
Both men were transferred to an army hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.
The extraordinary rescue has encouraged search teams to continue despite increasingly difficult conditions.
Australian tunnelling expert Arnold Dix, who has been helping advise the operation, said the discovery proved that people could survive underground for an extended period and gave teams renewed reason to continue searching.
2. One Survivor Stayed Behind to Help Others
Sanjay Sah’s story adds another extraordinary element to the rescue.
According to Reuters, Sah was working in the mechanical control room when information arrived that disaster was approaching from upstream.
Instead of immediately escaping, he warned other workers to flee.
Sah later explained that, because he was responsible for the control room, he believed he had a duty to help protect the people working around him.
By the time he tried to escape himself, it was too late.
He remained trapped underground, reportedly using prayer and mantras to stay calm during the long wait for rescuers. He also indicated that he had been in contact with several other people inside the tunnel.
That information has given rescue teams another reason to believe there could still be survivors deeper inside the complex.
3. Hundreds of Hydropower Workers Remain Missing
The two successful rescues are only a small part of the much larger emergency.
Officials believe hundreds of people working at hydropower facilities along the Trishuli River and surrounding waterways may still be trapped or missing.
Reuters reported that authorities believe at least 900 people may have been trapped in tunnels linked to six hydropower projects.
At the Trishuli 3A facility itself, approximately 40 more workers were still believed to be trapped as rescue teams continued searching.
The operation is exceptionally dangerous.
Rescuers have encountered massive rocks, flooded tunnels and unstable underground areas. In some places, explosives have been required to break through obstructions, while teams have also needed to drain water before progressing further.
Despite those risks, more than 270 people have reportedly been rescued from damaged hydropower facilities.
4. Nepal Flood Disaster Death Toll Continues to Rise
The human cost of the Nepal flood disaster is enormous.
The latest Nepal government figures reported by The Guardian on 5 September show:
- 1,294 confirmed deaths
- 5,053 people still missing
- 583 foreign nationals among those missing
Entire communities have been affected, while homes, bridges, roads and essential infrastructure have been destroyed or buried beneath mud and debris.
The disaster began on 26 August, when a glacial collapse triggered a huge movement of water, ice, rock and debris through the region near Nepal’s border with Tibet.
The force of the floods swept through towns, villages and hydropower installations, cutting communities off from transport, electricity and basic services.
The disaster has also affected neighbouring Tibet, where Chinese authorities had reported 31 deaths and 531 people missing as of 5 September.
5. UN Launches $49.6 Million Emergency Appeal
As search-and-rescue operations continue, attention is also turning towards the enormous humanitarian and rebuilding challenge.
On 4 September, the United Nations and humanitarian organisations launched a US$49.6 million emergency appeal for Nepal.
The four-month response aims to assist more than 84,000 people affected by the disaster.
The UN says the funding is needed for emergency shelter, clean drinking water, food, healthcare, sanitation and protection services.
Transport routes have been destroyed, power systems disrupted and water infrastructure damaged in some of the worst-hit communities.
With winter approaching in high-altitude Himalayan areas, providing shelter to displaced families has become especially urgent.
Hope Among the Devastation
The rescue of two workers after nine days underground is an extraordinary moment in an otherwise tragic disaster.
For the families of the thousands still missing, it offers something that has become increasingly difficult to hold onto — hope.
But Nepal’s emergency is far from over.
Rescue crews are continuing to search dangerous tunnels and devastated communities while humanitarian organisations work to reach people left without homes, clean water and essential services.
The coming days will be critical as teams race against difficult terrain, damaged infrastructure and time to find more survivors of the Nepal flood disaster.
Sources: Reuters – Nepali foreman rescued from tunnel stayed behind to help others / United Nations – Nepal floods $49.6 million emergency appeal
