Two workers trapped in a hydropower tunnel were rescued nine days after floods caused by a glacier collapse devastated Nepal on August 26. The two men, Sanjay Shah and Kabir Maharjan, were pulled to safety from the Trishuli 3A tunnel, with about 115 believed to be still trapped inside. According to officials, both workers are in stable condition and have been flown to a hospital in Kathmandu. Over 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
At least 273 people have been killed and over 1,300 are missing after catastrophic floods hit the Nepal-Tibet border, with 25 Canadians among the missing, according to reports. The disaster was triggered by a collapsed glacier in the Himalayas, which sent a massive amount of water rushing through the valleys below. The flooding caused widespread destruction, including the collapse of buildings and bridges, and has left many people displaced.
Initial estimates put the death toll at 177, but it has since risen to 273. The floods were so powerful that they registered a magnitude of 5.2 on the US Geological Survey's scale, making them one of the deadliest natural disasters in recent memory. Rescue teams are still searching for hundreds of missing people along the Nepal-China border.
The collapsed glacier was likely caused by rapidly melting Himalayan ice, which is becoming an increasingly serious issue due to climate change. Scientists say that the glacier collapse was so powerful that it sent a massive amount of water rushing through the valleys below, causing widespread destruction and loss of life.
The disaster has left many people displaced and has highlighted the need for better monitoring and early warning systems in the region. The incident also highlights the risks faced by tourists and pilgrims who travel to the area, with hundreds reported missing or dead.
Written for “Nepal Tibet Flood Disaster” on 2026-09-05,
grounded in this article and the 74 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 4117 · logged 2026-09-04
About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to local authorities.
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500 → miss → authorities
Rescuers in Nepal pulled two workers alive from a hydropower tunnel on Friday as emergency teams continued an operation to reach others believed to be trapped inside, officials said.
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officials → pull → others
The two men were rescued from the Trishuli 3A tunnel nine days after floods, caused by a glacier collapse, devastated towns and swept away villages in Nepal on 26 August.
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floods → rescue → August
Nepalese lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane posted about the second rescue on his Facebook page shortly after army spokesperson Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet confirmed the first trapped worker’s rescue.
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Basnet → post → rescue
The men were named as Sanjay Shah, 30, a mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor, by Home Minister Sudan Gurung.
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men → name → Gurung
Local television news channels showed images of the first rescued worker covered in mud and being carried from the site on a rescuer’s shoulder.
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channels → show → shoulder
Officials said both men were in stable condition and were flown to a hospital in the capital Kathmandu.
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men → say → capital
At least 557 workers are missing from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project along the Trishuli River, with about 115 believed to be trapped in the main tunnel, according to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.
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115 → miss → Nepal
Officials present at the rescue site said rescuers believe some people may still be alive inside the tunnel.
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people → say → tunnel
Nepal’s Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina said officials remain hopeful that more workers will be rescued.
“We are waiting for the rescue of more and more people,” Timilsina wrote on his Facebook page.
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Timilsina → say → page
About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to local authorities.
uncertain
500 → miss → authorities
Miracle country
Australian rescue expert Arnold Dix, who has advised on multiple tunnel-collapse rescues, has been supporting the operation remotely and is travelling to Nepal to support teams on the ground.
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who → advise → ground
Earlier on Friday, Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, said teams at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project believed they had heard a faint response from inside the tunnel.
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they → say → tunnel
He said rescuers had called into the tunnel: "Don't worry, we are rescuing you."
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we → say → you
"They believe they received a faint response from inside saying, 'hunchha', yes or OK," Dix told the AFP news agency, adding that he was en route to Nepal to join the rescue effort.
"Right now, I'm 'glass three-quarters full'...After a week of 24/7 heartache, we might, just, be back in miracle country," he said.
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he → believe → country
Dix said teams had dug through debris blocking the tunnel for 50 to 60 metres (164-196 feet) and had been hoping for a breakthrough at any moment.
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teams → say → moment
Less than an hour later, rescuers pulled the two men to safety.
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rescuers → pull → safety
Rescue teams in Nepal have recovered more than 1,250 bodies, and more than 5,000 are missing, after the gigantic wave triggered by a rock and ice avalanche roared down the China-Nepal border.
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wave → recover → border
China, as of late Wednesday, said 21 people were killed and 541 were missing on the Tibet side of the border.
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541 → say → border
