▲ The rescue site of the two Nepali plant employees
Nine days after massive floods swept through the Himalayan mountainous region along the Nepal-China border, two Nepali employees were dramatically rescued from a flooded hydroelectric power plant tunnel on the 4th, local time.
The rescue has raised hopes for finding hundreds of other workers believed to be trapped inside various plant tunnels.
The first worker to be rescued was identified as Sanjay Sah, the plant's mechanical foreman, and the second was Kabir Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor.
Local television news channels broadcast footage of Sah, covered in mud, being carried on a rescuer's shoulders away from the site.
A video released by the Ministry of Energy showed people cheering as Sah was pulled out through a muddy crevice by rescue workers.
Sah stood up with the help of a rescue worker and later raised his hand while being carried on a rescuer's back to a helicopter for evacuation.
According to the local media outlet The Kathmandu Post, Sah told Nepalese Army medical personnel who examined him at the scene that he communicated with three or four people near him inside the tunnel by talking and making sounds, adding that more people may be trapped deeper inside.
Hira Shova, the wife of Maharjan, expressed her gratitude to the rescuers who found him, saying, "My husband has been given a second life. We are so happy."
The two survivors were transferred to an army hospital and are currently in the intensive care unit, but their pulse, respiration, and body temperature are stable, a hospital official told Reuters.
Ram Neupane, a Nepalese lawmaker who participated in the search operations, stated that upon hearing voices inside the tunnel during the search that day, "The rescue team shouted, 'Don't panic, we are here to rescue you,' and a voice from inside the tunnel replied, 'Understood.'"
He added that they are continuing search operations based on intelligence that people may still be trapped inside the tunnel.
Nepalese rescue teams have been conducting search operations believing that hundreds of employees are isolated in several hydroelectric plant tunnels.
In particular, they have focused their search efforts on the assumption that about 90 workers might be trapped alive in the tunnels of two power plants, including Trishuli 3A.
Trishuli 3A is located downstream on the Trishuli River from the Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) hydroelectric plant, where nine missing South Korean employees were working. The two sites are about 6 kilometers apart.
On this day, the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) plans to focus its search around the power plant, concentrating on potential evacuation routes for the missing persons.
Utilizing two helicopters supported by the Nepalese Army, they will conduct aerial searches as weather permits while running ground searches in parallel.
Korea Southern Power (KOSPO) and Doosan Enerbility, which are in charge of the plant's construction, have expanded their on-site search personnel and scope.
KOSPO has divided 25 locals into two teams to conduct land searches, while Doosan Enerbility has secured a helicopter and plans to focus its search downstream as soon as flight approval is granted.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the massive floods in Nepal, as compiled by the country's Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, rose to at least 1,287 as of that day.
With at least 21 deaths reported on the Chinese side, the total death toll reached 1,308.
The number of missing persons also increased to a total of 5,624, including 5,083 in Nepal and 541 in China.
The number of missing persons in Nepal surged by about 1,000 in a single day.
As electricity and communication are gradually restored in Nepal, cutting off fewer isolated areas, the scale of casualties reflected in official tallies is growing.
With most bodies of the deceased severely decomposed and difficult to identify, and hospital mortuary facilities across the country reaching capacity, Nepalese authorities are performing procedures such as collecting DNA samples, taking photographs, and recording identifying information before provisionally burying dozens to hundreds of unidentified bodies daily.
However, local backlash has emerged, with critics arguing that burying bodies without proper funeral procedures violates Hindu cremation traditions.
In response, Nepalese authorities maintain that it is an inevitable decision as waterlogged bodies are decomposing rapidly.
Amrit Bahadur Rai, Nepal's foreign ministry secretary, recently remarked, "We had to bury the decaying bodies to protect public health," adding, "We have requested refrigeration facilities from several countries, and more than 1,000 units will be needed."
Nevertheless, authorities emphasized that these measures are temporary burials only, and once identities are confirmed later, the bodies will be handed over to the bereaved families so they can be cremated according to Hindu traditions.
Regarding the scale of economic damage, the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority stated that losses from the massive floods, including washed-out houses, buildings, and infrastructure, are estimated at a minimum of 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees (approximately 3.47 trillion KRW).
It added that initial recovery costs required for restoring roads and power, preparing shelters, and supplying drinking water amount to about 52.6 million dollars (approximately 71.2 billion KRW).
Meanwhile, Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah plans to attend the UN General Assembly opening in New York on the 8th to urge the international community to respond to climate change and demand compensation for the massive floods.
The Kathmandu Post and other outlets reported that the Nepalese government initially planned to send Foreign Minister Sisir Khanal to the UN General Assembly, but changed its stance after the massive floods, deciding that the prime minister will step forward personally to raise the climate change issue.
The Nepalese government is demanding compensation from major greenhouse gas emitters such as China, the United States, and India, arguing that its country, which has negligible greenhouse gas emissions, is paying the price for climate change disasters like this massive flood.
(Photo: Captured from The Kathmandu Post website, Yonhap News)
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