Rescuers Search Flooded Tunnels for Survivors Two Weeks After Nepal Disaster
Two weeks after the catastrophic glacial flood on the Nepal-Tibet border, rescue teams are actively searching hydroelectric tunnels for survivors following the miraculous rescue of several workers.
Two weeks after the catastrophic flood along the border between Nepal and Tibet, rescue teams are continuing their efforts to reach trapped workers in three hydroelectric power station tunnels where survivors might still be found. Rescuers draw encouragement from four survivors who were pulled alive from such tunnels over the weekend. In recent days, these survivors have begun sharing their stories, recounting how they found themselves trapped in air pockets and clung to hope until they heard rescuers carving a path toward them.
The Disaster and the Scope of Destruction
The flash flood struck on the morning of August 26, when a massive section of a glacier crashed into a river, unleashing a tsunami-like wall of water that swept away everything in its path. Two weeks after the disaster, which many link to human-induced global warming, the official death toll stands at over 1,400, while more than 5,000 people remain missing, including more than 580 foreign nationals, among them two Israeli citizens.
For the past week and a half, rescue efforts have concentrated on the tunnels of 11 hydroelectric plants that were flooded during the disaster, assuming that more than 900 workers were inside at the time. On Friday, two workers were rescued alive, and on Saturday, a third worker, a Chinese national, was pulled out. Outside the tunnels in a neighboring village, a 64-year-old woman was also found alive after enduring 10 days in the ruins of her home.
Surviving in Total Darkness
One of the survivors, Kabir Maharjan, spent nine days trapped in a tunnel at the Trishuli A3 power station in a delirious state, hovering between consciousness and unconsciousness inside a pool of muddy water and total darkness. When he finally woke up in a hospital after his miraculous rescue, he did not recognize his wife.
«Why didn't you arrange a bed for me earlier?»
he asked her sleepily and confused.
Nepali lawmaker Shri Ram Dhungana, a veteran tunnel engineer who assisted in the rescue efforts, explained that Maharjan and his mechanical foreman, Sanjay Sah, survived inside an air pocket. Around 7:30 a.m. on the morning of the disaster, Maharjan had called his wife before his shift, telling her that he had to enter the tunnel where there would be no phone reception. Less than two hours later, the Langtang Lirung glacier collapsed, triggering a powerful avalanche that obliterated villages and hydroelectric plants.
Engineering Challenges and Breakthroughs
In Kathmandu, officials at the electricity department monitored power supplies on their screens until stations began disappearing like dominoes. Suraj Dahal, an engineer at the Nepal Electricity Authority who led parts of the rescue operation, noted that the situation quickly escalated. Although rescuers faced severe obstacles, including water-logged debris that swallowed heavy equipment, a breakthrough came when a 5-inch drill hole confirmed the tunnel's true route.
On the tenth day, rescue teams heard faint noises and shouting coming from deep within the mud-filled tunnel. After clearing the blockage, soldiers and engineers breached the barrier and pulled out Maharjan and Sah, who were unable to stand on their own. The following day, rescue workers also located 64-year-old Chandika Kumari Shrestha alive in a small air pocket inside the ruins of her four-story home in the devastated village of Bhrawati, where families had already begun mourning her.
