Nine days buried alive: The miraculous rescue and desperate race against time in Nepal's flooded tunnels

Two survivors were rescued from a flooded hydropower tunnel in Nepal's Rasuwa district nine days after catastrophic flash floods, with rescue teams hearing more voices inside.

Two survivors have been extracted from the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station tunnel in Rasuwa district, Nepal, nine days after flash floods have buried hundreds of workers alive underground. The Nepali army and the Armed Police Force are working hard to rescue other survivors after hearing human voices echoing from the sealed underground passages.

As the death toll in the country reaches 1,259 and over 5,000 people missing, the unexpected finding has offered families with hopes for a miracle.

ALSO READ | Trapped in tunnels: Death toll surpasses 1,200 in Nepal as PM Shah calls for global climate action

Trishuli 3: A rescue operations

The search for trapped workers in the inundated infrastructure became increasingly hopeful after hearing vocal responses to shouts from rescue workers.

The breakthrough: Lawmaker and engineer Shri Ram Neupane confirmed through social media that rescue workers received verbal responses from trapped workers after shouting.

Intensified rescuing efforts: The Nepali Army and the Armed Police Force are rushing with heavy machinery and debris clearance equipment to clear mud-filled passages.

Uncontacted workers: At least 40 workers are still uncontacted at the Trishuli 3A alone and over 900 workers are still missing at six hydropower plants.

Grim discoveries at Rasuwa Langtang Khola

Although there have been signs of optimism in the rescue efforts at Trishuli 3A, operations at neighboring locations emphasize how dangerous the conditions are for the crew working underground.

Tunnel discoveries: Search teams who have searched 150 meters into the tunnels at the Rasuwa Langtang Khola Hydropower Project found two bodies.

Uncontacted personnel: There are at least 41 personnel at the 20-megawatt power station who have not been located, placing their relatives in an unbearable waiting period.

Access obstacles: The damage caused to access roads, rough mountain terrain, and extreme weather prevent the usage of heavy machinery in remote valleys.

Human costs and waiting relatives

The families of the missing men have been persistent in seeking information from command centers to project sites.

Hopeful expectations: The husbands and parents of the trapped engineers keep asking for prompt rescue and holding on to hope that air spaces inside the tunnels might have kept anyone alive.

National catastrophe: As the efforts to rescue those entombed are now in the second week, the workers have to remove millions of cubic meters of debris before finding anyone alive.

ALSO READ | Buried beneath the silt: Inside the devastating drone footage of Nepal's flooded heartland | VIDEO

Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news and world news on Zee News.