Two people rescued alive from Nepal Hydropower Tunnel
Two people were rescued alive from a 'tunnel' connected to a hydropower plant on the Trishuli River on Friday, nine days after an ice, rock, and mud slide that swept across a valley in Nepal killed more than 1,200 people and forced tens and thousands of people to flee.
Officials and rescue workers are of the opinion that the collapse of a large glacier in the upper reaches on the Trishuli River on August 26 trapped at least nine hundred people inside tunnels connected to six hydropower plants along the river.
As a result of the floods, houses, streets and even schools were destroyed in villages and towns near China's Tibet. Over 4,200 people remain missing, and thousands of others have been displaced.
China has reported 21 deaths in Tibet, with 541 missing persons.
First to be rescued are two workers from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower station.
The office of Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta shrestha said that the two men were Sanjay?Sah, a foreman in mechanical engineering, and Kabir?Maharjan, an engineer supervisor.
Video and photos released by Nepali authorities showed Maharjan being dragged out of a ground hole amid cheering onlookers and placed on a stretcher.
Sah was the other man. He was carried on the back by a worker, with his face covered in dirt, to a tent for rescue.
In one video, a team of doctors from the army attended to Sah in a tent located near the tunnel. They fitted what looked like an oxygen mask to his mouth, and checked his vitals.
Sanjay Sah was working at the mechanical control room. An army official stated that the 'vital parameters looked normal.
An aide to the Energy Minister told that Maharjan is unable to move his arms and legs, but Sah's injuries were not critical.
The aide confirmed that the two would be taken to a Kathmandu hospital.
Amir Maharjan, Kabir’s brother, says he did not receive any official news but was told to visit the hospital.
"I've heard from the news that they have found my brother. Amir stated that the entire family is happy.
A WhatsApp group of experts guided rescue workers to the hydropower project in the race for survivors.
(source: Reuters)
