Two workers at a Nepali power plant have been rescued from a tunnel nine days after floods devastated the region, with hopes rising for the others trapped inside as rescue crews report hearing even more voices.
The unidentified men were pulled from a small hole at the Trishul 3A hydropower plant in quick succession on Friday, as local television news channels shared images of the worker covered in mud and being carried from the site on a rescuer’s shoulder.
Dramatic video obtained by CNN also showed about a dozen rescuers pulling a man from a small hole in the ground and clapping as he reached safety.
Officials have since identified the two men as a mechanical foreman and a mechanical supervisor. They are both now under medical observation, army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said.
The rescue came amid a desperate operation to bore into the tunnel as at least 557 workers remain missing from the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant, with about 115 believed to be trapped inside the main tunnel following the deadly August 26 floods.
Dozens of people had been working inside the 2.5-mile long tunnel that leads to an underground powerhouse when a glacier collapsed and flooded the Trishuli River.
As the days went by, hopes had been fading for the safe rescue of the workers at the plants that run along the river – including foreigners from China, South Korea and India.
But as the two men were rescued on Friday, search crews ‘heard voices,’ Bigpin Regmi, police chief in the hard-hit district of Nuwakot, told CNN – leading rescuers to believe some people may still be alive inside the tunnels.
Dramatic video obtained by CNN showed about a dozen rescuers pulling a man from a small hole in the ground
Rescue crews are seen carrying one of the freed power plant workers to safety
The rescue came amid a desperate operation to bore into the tunnel to search for 42 workers who remained unaccounted for following the deadly August 26 floods
At least 1,259 people were killed and more than 5,000 remain missing, according to the country’s disaster management agency. China, as of late Wednesday, said 21 people were killed and 541 were missing on the Tibet side of the border.
About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to local authorities.
Meanwhile, the US State Department has said it is continuing to track about 75 Americans who remain unaccounted for across the Nepal-China border. Sixteen Americans have made their way to safety, US officials announced Wednesday.
Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah opened up about the efforts the government was making to find those who remain missing on Tuesday, as he thanked local and international organizations for their ‘unprecedented courage, patience, support, cooperation and facilitation,’ ABC News reports.
‘We are moving forward from search, rescue and relief distribution to rehabilitation after the devastating flood,’ he then announced on social media.
More than 21,000 security personnel from Nepal’s national police, army and armed forces have been dispatched to aid in the search and rescue efforts, officials said.
As of Wednesday morning, thousands of emergency responders had also doled out medical treatment to at least 4,070 people.
Nepal army soldiers are pictured working during a search and rescue operation outside a tunnel near the Hydropower Project sites on Wednesday
At least 1,259 people were killed and more than 5,000 remain missing nine days since the flood
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
