Two hydropower employees were rescued alive from the Trishuli 3A tunnel in Nepal's Rasuwa district on September 4, 2026. The survivors, a mechanical foreman and supervisor, had been trapped for nine days following catastrophic flooding.
The nine-day survival of the Trishuli 3A foreman and supervisor
Rescue teams in the Rasuwa district located two men on Friday morning after hearing voices emanating from the depths of the Trishuli 3A hydropower tunnel. According to army spokesman Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet, one of the rescued workers reported that other people remain alive inside the structure. The two survivors—identified as a mechanical supervisor and a mechanical foreman—were immediately evacuated to a hospital in Kathmandu, where the prime minister's office noted that one remains in critical condition.
The operation reached a turning point when rescuers, supported by soldiers, physically carrried the mud-covered men from the site. Lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane provided real-time updates on the rescue via Facebook, confirming that the discovery of the survivors shifted the mission's primary objective from body recovery to active rescue.
Why 500 trapped workers across 12 projects remain missing
The rescue at the Trishuli 3A site is a small victory against a staggering backdrop of industrial loss. the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal reports that approximately 115 people are believed to have been inside the Trishuli 3A tunnel alone when the floods hit.. Across a total of 12 different hydropower projects , an estimated 900 workers are currently missing, with roughly 500 of those believed to be trapped within various tunnels.
The scale of the disappearance highlights the extreme risk faced by laborers in Nepal's mountain valleys.. Because many of these projects are situated in deep gorges, the sudden influx of water and debris created lethal traps, leaving hundreds of employees cut off from the surface with no immediate means of escape.
A $2.5 billion disaster triggered by Himalayan glacier collapse
The devastation began on August 26, when catastrophic flooding—likely caused by a glacier collapse—buried vast portions of the Himalayan region in sludge and debris. Nepal's disaster management agency reports that at least 1,287 people have been killed, while more than 5,000 remain missing. The disaster extended beyond Nepal's borders; Chinese officials reported that 21 people died and 541 went missing on the Tibet side of the border.
The economic toll is equally severe, with the disaster agency estimating that infrastructure and property damage totals at least 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees, or approximately US$2.5 billion. In areas like Devighat, drone footage has revealed a landscape of destroyed homes completely surrounded by the sludge of the swollen Trishuli River.
Who are the other survivors claimed to be inside the tunnel?
While the rescue of two men provides hope, the identity and location of others remain unknown. nepal's Communications Minister Bikram Timilsina stated on Facebook that officials are still waiting for the rescue of more people, but the search is hampered by severe damage to access routes, bridges, and roads.. It remains unclear how many of the 115 people believed to be in the Trishuli 3A tunnel are still alive or where they might be sheltered.
Search teams are currently relying on acoustic monitoring, listening for sounds of survivors amidst the heavy debris. However, as reported by the source, the difficulty of moving massive amounts of mud and rubble means that rescuers may not be able to reach all sections of the tunnel in time to save those still trapped.
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