Nepal Tunnel Rescue Offers Hope Amid Flood Devastation

Published: 05 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

The rescue of two hydropower workers who survived for nine days inside a flooded tunnel in Nepal has been described by an international tunnelling expert as a remarkable victory for human resilience, offering renewed hope to families still waiting for news of hundreds of people missing after catastrophic floods along the Nepal-Tibet border.

Sanjay Shah and Kabir Maharajan were pulled alive from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project on Friday, more than a week after a devastating disaster sent torrents of water, mud and debris through communities and infrastructure along the border between Nepal and China. Their survival has provided a powerful boost to exhausted rescue teams working in extremely dangerous conditions.

Australian engineer and geologist Arnold Dix, who was invited by Nepali authorities to advise on the rescue operation, said the discovery of the two men alive had demonstrated that people could survive for unexpectedly long periods in the aftermath of a disaster.

“We’ve found two people alive, so that gives us hope,” Dix said, describing the successful operation as a profound reminder of what people can achieve when they work together to save lives.

After more than a week of exhausting searches, the rescue has also given teams a clearer understanding of what may be possible at other damaged hydropower facilities. Dix said the discovery provided proof that people trapped underground could remain alive for much longer than rescuers might initially expect.

The breakthrough came after rescuers faced enormous difficulties simply locating the Trishuli 3A facility and determining which tunnel could provide the safest route to the power station. The disaster had damaged or destroyed infrastructure across a wide area, leaving rescue teams dealing with unstable ground, blocked routes and flooded underground passages.

The catastrophe followed a glacial collapse that unleashed a massive torrent of water, mud and debris. Buildings, roads and bridges were swept away, while numerous hydropower projects along the region’s rivers suffered severe damage.

Dix said the scale of the disaster made it fundamentally different from other emergencies he had previously encountered. In most disasters, he explained, specialists concentrate on a single major incident. In Nepal, however, dozens of hydropower facilities were affected at the same time, effectively creating multiple emergencies across a vast and difficult landscape.

At Trishuli 3A, rescuers encountered huge rocks blocking their progress, with some reportedly comparable in size to vehicles. The team was forced to use explosives to clear sections of the route, despite the risks involved.

Explosives are generally considered a last resort in an underground rescue because vibrations and falling debris can endanger people trapped on the other side of a blockage. In this case, however, rescuers had to balance those dangers against the possibility that time was running out for anyone still alive inside.

When the rescue team eventually reached the tunnel, they discovered that it was heavily flooded. Rather than being able to move directly into the passage, rescuers had to create an emergency trench in an effort to drain water and make access possible.

There were serious fears that the trapped workers might already have drowned. But on Friday morning, approximately 50 metres into the tunnel, rescuers reported hearing a faint voice.

The team called out to those inside and urged them not to panic, telling them that rescuers were coming. A voice from within the tunnel reportedly responded with a simple “OK”.

That brief exchange transformed the operation. After days of uncertainty and increasingly dangerous conditions, rescuers suddenly knew that at least some people had survived.

For Dix, the moment carried a significance that went beyond the technical challenges of tunnelling. Having previously worked at major disaster sites, including Ground Zero following the September 11 attacks in the United States, he said the rescue demonstrated a fundamental human instinct to help others in danger.

He also played a role in the successful rescue of 41 workers trapped during the 2023 Silkyara tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand, India. All of those workers were eventually brought out alive after a complex and closely watched rescue operation.

The Nepal disaster, however, has presented an unprecedented challenge because of its geographical scale and the number of locations affected simultaneously.

Despite the successful rescue of Shah and Maharajan, the operation at Trishuli 3A remains far from over. Around 40 other workers are believed to remain trapped inside the facility, while rescuers continue to face potentially fatal risks.

Water remains one of the biggest threats. If rescuers break through rock while water is trapped on the other side, the resulting surge could overwhelm the team. Because sections of the rescue operation are now taking place below the level of the surrounding flood plain, there is also concern that water could enter from behind and trap the rescuers themselves.

Dix stressed that the successful rescue should not lead teams to underestimate the dangers still facing them. The two men being brought out alive was an extraordinary achievement, but the remaining operation requires extreme caution.

Rescuers have been working towards what engineers describe as a “Goldilocks zone” near the upper section of the 11-storey Trishuli 3A power station. The area is considered a potentially promising location from which teams could reach additional survivors.

The wider humanitarian situation remains devastating. More than 270 people have already been rescued from various hydropower projects, but hundreds of workers remain unaccounted for.

Nepal’s disaster management authorities reported 1,294 confirmed deaths as of 4 September, while 5,053 people remained missing. The missing included 583 foreign nationals, underlining the international dimension of the catastrophe.

The disaster has also affected neighbouring China. Chinese authorities reported 31 confirmed deaths and 531 people missing as of 5 September, including 261 foreign citizens.

The enormous death toll and continuing uncertainty have created an immense humanitarian challenge. Families remain desperate for information about relatives who disappeared when floodwaters swept through workplaces, settlements and transport routes.

International assistance has been expanding as Nepal continues its search-and-rescue and relief operations. Australia has deployed dozens of government officials, disaster-response specialists and humanitarian personnel to support the emergency response.

By the latest update, 38 Australian personnel were on the ground in Nepal. A 15-member Australian Disaster Assistance Response Team specialising in drone operations arrived in Kathmandu late on Friday, while seven disaster victim identification specialists from the Australian federal police were scheduled to travel to Nepal on Saturday.

The deployment reflects the growing need for specialised technology and expertise as rescue teams search damaged infrastructure and difficult terrain. Drones can provide aerial information in areas that are dangerous or inaccessible to ground teams, while disaster victim identification specialists can assist authorities as the recovery phase develops.

Yet amid the scale of the destruction, the survival of two workers has become a rare moment of hope.

For the families of those still missing, the rescue is more than a technical success. It offers the possibility that others may also have survived in isolated pockets, tunnels or damaged structures where search teams have not yet reached them.

For rescuers, the discovery has also changed the emotional atmosphere of the operation. Days of exhaustion and uncertainty have been replaced, at least temporarily, by renewed determination.

Dix said the rescue represented the kind of collective effort that demonstrates the best qualities of humanity. The men were not simply recovered from a dangerous tunnel; they were brought back to their families after surviving conditions that could easily have proved fatal.

The search ahead remains extraordinarily dangerous, and rescuers know that every additional attempt carries serious risks. But the voices heard from inside the Trishuli 3A tunnel have provided something the teams urgently needed: evidence that hope can survive even in the darkest conditions.

As Nepal continues to confront one of its most devastating disasters, the successful rescue of the two workers stands as a powerful reminder that persistence, expertise and cooperation can overcome seemingly impossible circumstances. Their survival has not ended the tragedy, but it has given rescuers and families a reason to keep searching.