World news | The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Gaurav Pokharel in Kathmandu
Two workers, Sanjay Shah and Kabir Maharjan, were rescued alive from the Trishuli 3A tunnel in Nepal nine days after flash floods buried the project in deep mud. They were recovered from a depth of 170 meters inside the tunnel, with Shah being pulled out first and taken to the army barracks in Trishuli. A total of two people have been rescued, while one body has also been found during the rescue operation, which has yet to be identified. The rescue operation was halted on Friday afternoon after no more signs of life were detected.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Two people have been pulled out alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal nine days after deadly flash floods buried the projects in deep mud and left them trapped.
asserted
floods → pull → them
The workers were rescued during an operation at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, a hydropower project in one of the areas worst affected by last week’s floods, according to the army spokesperson Brig Gen Raja Ram Basnet.
uncertain
workers → rescue → spokesperson
Sanjay Shah, a foreman, was the first to be rescued and was taken to the army barracks in Trishuli.
asserted
Shah → rescue → Trishuli
Another person, identified as Kabir Maharjan, a project supervisor, was also pulled from the tunnel.
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person → identify → tunnel
They were recovered from a depth of 170 metres (558ft) inside the tunnel, Basnet said.
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Basnet → recover → tunnel
A senior police official confirmed that a body had also been found during the rescue operation, which has yet to be identified.
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which → confirm → operation
By Friday afternoon, police confirmed they had halted the search as they had found no more signs of life.
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they → confirm → life
Nepal’s army released images of Shah being pulled from the small dark entrance of a tunnel.
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Shah → release → tunnel
He emerged covered in mud but conscious and was carried from the site on a rescuer’s shoulder.
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He → emerge → shoulder
Speaking to army officials after he was rescued, Shah’s first question was: “What day is it?”
Shah said he had been in the tunnel’s control room at the time of the flood, alongside about 40 to 45 others.
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he → speak → others
“Since I was in the control room, my responsibility was to save everyone’s lives,” he said.
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he → save → lives
“After such an accident, I couldn’t just run away by myself.
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I → run → myself
I had to save everyone.”
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I → have → everyone
He said that after realising there had been a major accident, he raced through the tunnel telling people to run and save themselves.
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he → say → themselves
“In doing so, I lost time.
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I → do → time
In the end, I couldn’t get out myself,” he said.
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he → get → end
To keep himself calm in the darkness of the tunnel, Shah said he spent his time chanting mantras.
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he → keep → mantras
He said that while trapped, he had heard the voices of three or four others.
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he → say → others
“We were communicating by shouting to each other from nearby.
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We → communicate → other
Some of them may not have been able to escape,” he said.
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he → escape → them
Officials said the two men had been flown to a hospital in Kathmandu.
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men → say → Kathmandu
Shah was said to be stable but Maharjan was in a critical condition and had been transferred to intensive care.
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Maharjan → say → care
Hirashova Maharjan, Kabir’s wife, said he had been in shock at first and was not talking, but had since said “a few words”.
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he → say → words
She said he had an injury to his leg and was extremely jaundiced.
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he → say → leg
“He did not even recognise me initially.
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He → recognise → me
He only said: ‘Where am I?
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I → say → ?
What happened to me?’
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What → happen → me
He did not say anything else,” she said.
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she → say → anything
He said he wanted some water, so I gave him water.
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I → say → water
Then I asked him if he recognised me, and he said yes.
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he → ask → me
He nodded his head.”
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He → nod → head
“We had almost lost hope,” she said, adding that when she saw the photos of him being pulled from the tunnel, “I was so happy that I cried.”
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I → lose → tunnel
Most of the hydropower projects along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers were destroyed when a surge of water, debris and mud came coursing down the valley last week, triggered by the collapse of a melting glacier on the border between Nepal and China-controlled Tibet.
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surge → destroy → Nepal
At least 1,287 people were killed in the floods and more than 5,000 remain missing, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency.
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5,000 → kill → agency
Rescue efforts have increasingly centred on the hydropower tunnels, where authorities believe workers may have survived for more than a week in air pockets.
uncertain
workers → centre → pockets
So far, more than 270 people have been rescued across several projects.
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people → rescue → projects
Large boulders and flood waters had deluged the hydropower tunnels, blocking off the entrances, and some were buried deep in mud.
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some → deluge → mud
At the Upper Trishuli 3A facility, it took rescue workers almost six days to find the tunnels.
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it → take → tunnels
Speaking over the phone from the rescue site, Amrit Thapa, deputy superintendent of the armed police force, who is part of the seven-person search and rescue team, said they had managed to crawl the length of the tunnel looking for survivors.
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they → speak → survivors
They were accompanied by a team from the Nepal army.
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They → accompany → army
…and 9 more, not listed.
