Nepal: two workers found alive in a tunnel after a catastrophic flood

The authorities speak of a “miracle”. On Friday September 4, Nepalese emergency services managed to find two workers alive in a tunnel in northern Nepal where they had been prisoners since the catastrophic flood of August 26 in the Himalayas. They are the first to be extracted alive from the tunnel of the Trishuli 3-A hydroelectric project, in which the authorities estimate that around a hundred people could be held prisoner.

One of the two survivors was taken out of the tunnel on a stretcher carried by a swarm of helmeted men, according to images released by the Ministry of Energy. Conscious, he folded his hands in prayer. The other miracle victim, his face and body covered in mud, was put back on his feet by his rescuers, to whom he gave a little wave. “They looked exhausted,” Madhav Rijal, one of the volunteers mobilized on the Trishuli 3-A hydroelectric project site, told franceinfo. “Almost ten days without food, without anything. Their bodies seemed exhausted.”

More than 5,000 missing

The operations are carried out by the Nepalese army, which notably transported an excavator by air. “There is perhaps hope of finding other survivors,” continued Madhav Rijal, while dozens of people are still missing at the site. "It's very difficult and risky work. There are no accessible roads. All the equipment is transported by helicopter," he explained. “Search and rescue operations are continuing,” assured the army.

Caused by the collapse of a glacier and a section of the mountain, the wall of water, ice and debris which devastated the territory located on the border between Nepal and China nine days ago left at least 1,280 dead and more than 5,600 missing, according to the latest official reports. The Nepalese authority in charge of emergency situations remained without news on Friday of more than 900 employees or workers of hydroelectric sites in service or under construction.