Two workers rescued alive after nine days trapped in hydropower tunnel in Nepal

Nepal's emergency services rescued alive this Friday (4) two workers who had been trapped since the catastrophic mudslide hit the Himalayan region. They were found in the Trishuli-3 hydropower tunnel.

The first bailout was announced by Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha. Shortly afterwards, Interior Minister Sudan Gurung confirmed that a second person had been removed from the tunnel.

The survivors were identified as Sanjay Shah, 30, a mechanic in charge, and Kabir Maharjan, 45, a supervisor. The two will be taken to a hospital in the capital, Kathmandu, according to Shrestha.

A video obtained by Reuters shows Shah telling rescuers about the moment floods hit. He said he was in the control room. According to Shah, there were between 40 and 45 people at the scene, and his priority was to alert his colleagues and try to help them escape.

"When such a serious accident happened, it wouldn't be right for me to run away. My responsibility was to save others," Sah said before being taken to hospital. When trying to help the others, however, he was unable to get out in time and became trapped in the tunnel.

During the nine days he remained at the site, Sah said he managed to maintain contact with three or four workers. He stated that other people may have been carried by the force of the water to deeper areas of the tunnel, which is very long. To maintain hope during the period he was imprisoned, the worker said he chanted the Mahamrityunjaya mantra, a Hindu prayer.

Dozens of Nepalese rescuers, with the help of experts from India, China and South Korea, have been working for a week to excavate several tunnels that were buried after the flood. The structures are located on hydroelectric power plant installations or dams under construction.

Shortly after the disaster, authorities estimated that around a hundred workers could be trapped in the Trishuli-3 tunnel alone. Until this Friday, rescuers had found some bodies in the region's tunnels, filled with water and mud.

The flood of water, ice and debris, caused by the collapse of a glacier, which destroyed several valleys in the border region between Nepal and China.

The disaster killed more than 1,300 people, according to preliminary estimates. Of the total deaths, 1,287 were recorded in Nepal, according to a police report, and 31 on the Chinese side, according to state media.

The Nepalese government has stated that more than at least 5,083 people are missing. The group includes more than 900 employees of Nepali hydroelectric plants. In turn, the Chinese state press reported 531 were missing in the territory of Tibet.

Chinese authorities maintained tight control over press access to the affected area in Tibet. The country's state media did not release the names of those missing.