Nepal confirms rescue of two hydropower workers after nine days trapped in tunnel following devastating flood

Nepal Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha today announced that a worker has just been safely rescued from the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A hydroelectric plant.

Local television channels broadcast images of the first worker being rescued covered in mud and carried out of the rubble by rescue workers.

Nepal army spokesman, General Raja Ram Basnet, said the victim was examined by a medical team at the scene. Officials said this worker is Sanjaya Shah and he is currently unable to speak after 9 days trapped in the tunnel.

Shah was transferred by helicopter to a hospital in Battar, northwest of the capital Kathmandu, for treatment.

Immediately afterwards, Sudanese Interior Minister Gurun continued to announce that he had received information about the second person rescued, worker Kabir Maharajan. He "smiled and expressed gratitude" when he was rescued from the tunnel, Nepali officials said.

The rescue took place 9 days after flash floods on August 26, devastating a series of towns and valleys in Nepal.

According to Nepal's disaster management agency, at least 1,259 people have died and more than 5,000 people are still missing due to the catastrophic flash flood. By the end of September 2, China announced that 21 people were dead and 541 people were missing on the Tibetan side of the border.

Nepalese authorities announced that about 900 workers were missing at 12 hydroelectric projects in the country, of which an estimated 500 people were trapped in tunnels. Officials previously said they believed more than 100 workers could be alive inside multiple tunnels.

While the search and rescue campaign continued, many morgues in Nepal were overloaded, forcing the government to centrally bury hundreds of unidentified bodies after collecting DNA samples.

Nepal's economy, which is already under a lot of pressure, is now facing even more difficulties due to limited resources to respond to large-scale disasters. The Nepal government said reconstruction costs could reach billions of dollars.

The exact cause of the ice collapse that caused the flash floods is unclear, but climate change is causing glaciers worldwide to melt, increasing the risk of similar disasters. Scientists say the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range, are melting faster as global temperatures rise.