"People Here," Voice Heard Inside Tunnel: Two Nepalese Rescued Dramatically

Two Nepalese employees who had been trapped inside a hydropower plant tunnel due to massive floods in Nepal have been rescued after nine days.

As a result, expectations are growing for the rescue of hundreds of other employees estimated to be trapped in various power plant tunnels.

The Nepalese government announced that rescue teams, including the Nepalese army, rescued two living employees while searching the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant in Bagmati Province, central Nepal, today (the 4th) local time.

Viraj Bhakta Shrestha, Nepal's Minister of Energy, said, "One person was just safely rescued from the Trishuli 3A tunnel."

Subsequently, Minister of Home Affairs Sudan Kirati stated in a statement, "We just received news that another person has been rescued."

Local TV news channels broadcasted footage of the first rescued employee, covered in mud, being carried away on a rescue worker's shoulder.

Medical staff are checking the health condition of the rescued employees.

Ram Neupane, a member of the Nepalese parliament who has participated in the search operations, told the local media Kathmandu Post that the first rescued employee is Sanjay Sah, a mechanical foreman at the plant, and the second is Kabir Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor.

Lawmaker Neupane explained that they are continuing search operations after receiving information that people may still be trapped inside the tunnel.


Lawmaker Neupane stated that voices of people were heard from inside the tunnel during the search.

He conveyed, "The rescue team shouted, 'Do not panic, we are here to rescue you,' and a voice from inside the tunnel replied, 'Understood.'"

Nepalese rescue teams have been conducting search operations believing that hundreds of employees are trapped inside several hydropower plant tunnels.

In particular, they have concentrated search capabilities believing that about 90 employees may be trapped alive in tunnels at two power plants, including Trishuli 3A.

Trishuli 3A is located downstream of the Trishuli River from the Upper Trishuli (UT)-1 hydropower plant, where nine missing South Korean employees worked.

The two power plants are located about 6 km apart from each other.

(Photo: Screenshot from Kathmandu Post website, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.