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Miraculous Rescue as Two Engineers Are Pulled Alive from Deep Hydropower Tunnel in Nepal Nine Days After Devastating Glacial Floods
Nepal Army and emergency disaster rescue teams extract two survivors from a depth of 170 metres inside the Trishuli-3A tunnel, reviving hopes for scores of trapped colleagues.
By 19Network Editorial Team · Sep 4, 2026 · 5 min read
Two mechanical engineers pulled alive from Nepal's Trishuli-3A hydropower tunnel nine days after catastrophic glacial floods devastated northern valleys.
KATHMANDU / RASUWA - In an extraordinary triumph of human endurance, surgical engineering, and relentless search-and-rescue courage, emergency teams in northern Nepal have pulled two mechanical engineers alive from a submerged hydropower tunnel on Friday morning. The dramatic rescue took place nine full days after catastrophic flash floods and mudslides swept through the Himalayan river valleys, trapping scores of construction personnel deep beneath hundreds of tons of debris. The two survivors—identified by authorities as Sanjay Saha, 30, a mechanical supervisor, and Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical foreman—were discovered by military search teams at a depth of 170 metres inside the main tunnel of the Trishuli-3A hydroelectric project in Rasuwa district. The site had been completely cut off from the outside world since August 26, when the sudden collapse of a melting glacial lake along the high-altitude border region unleashed an immense wall of water, boulders, and silt down the Trishuli and Bhotekoshi river basins, obliterating twelve hydropower stations and claiming more than 1,250 lives. For nearly six days following the catastrophe, rescue crews were unable to even locate the physical entrance of the Trishuli-3A tunnel, which had been smothered beneath a mountainous layer of thick mud and dislodged boulders. Working around the clock with heavy excavators, hydraulic jackhammers, and thermal detection gear, joint task forces comprised of the Nepal Army and the Armed…