One trapped worker rescued alive from tunnel in Nepal, says official

Rescue workers rescue one person from inside the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A hydel project. Photo: Secretariat of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Govt of Nepal via ANI. Two hydropower workers in Nepal were pulled out on Friday (September 4, 2026) from tunnels buried by debris in catastrophic flooding more than a week ago, Nepali government Ministers said.Energy Biraj Bhakta Shrestha confirmed a “person was just safely rescued from the tunnel of Trishuli 3A”, followed by a second shortly after.“We have just received news that another person...has also been rescued,” Home Minister Sudan Gurung said in a statement.The worker was rescued during an ongoing operation at the Trishul 3A tunnel, Nepal Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said.Local television news channels showed images of the worker covered in mud and being carried from the site on a rescuer’s shoulder. A medical team was checking on him at the site, Mr. Basnet said.The rescue came nine days after the August 26 floods, likely caused by a glacier collapse, that devastated towns and valleys in Nepal.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. Published - September 04, 2026 09:44 am IST