Two men have been pulled alive from a tunnel in Nepal nine days after floods devastated the region, with hopes rising for the others trapped as rescue crews report hearing more voices from inside the hydropower plant.
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 workers covered in mud and being carried from the site on a rescuer’s shoulder.
Dramatic video 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.
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,’ Bipin 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 a dozen 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.
Soldiers are pictured carrying a powerplant worker to safety on Friday morning
A Nepal Army soldier is seen trying to sift through the mud during the search efforts
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
But throughout the country, roads, villages and buildings were destroyed, Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah has said, adding that at least 48 suspension bridges were damaged – 28 of which will have to be completely replaced.
The government has since released about 1 billion Nepali rupees, or about $6.5 million, to aid in rebuilding the flood-affected areas.
The disaster began on August 26, when the earth started shaking along the Nepal-China border.
The US Geological Survey initially detected the shaking as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake but later determined that a massive section of glacier had collapsed.
The United States Geological Survey described the seismic event as an extremely powerful ‘glacial collapse and debris flow’ that caused catastrophic impacts downstream.
As the ice mass plummeted, it was pulverized into a fast-flowing mix of freezing water, debris and rocks that swept down the mountainside into the Lende Khola River, razing villages along the way.
When the bodies then started piling up in Nepal, authorities started burying the remains in temporary graves until they could be identified.
Crews are working to preserve DNA samples, photographing distinguishing facial features and recording other identifying details.
Each body is also assigned a reference number to help families identify and claim the remains later.
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