LIVE: 'A second life': Nine days later, 2 rescued from Nepal hydropower tunnel
Rescued worker says he was in touch with 3-4 people; other reports say 39 people are still trapped
Two men were rescued alive from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project on Friday (September 4) nine days after a flash flood tore through the Trishuli River corridor in central Nepal.
They were identified as Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor on the project, and Sanjay Sah, 30, a foreman, according to the Public Relations Directorate of the Nepal Army. Other reports say around 40 people are said to be trapped.
Maharjan was flown to Nepal Army Hospital in Chhauni, Kathmandu, and his condition is said to be critical while Sah is under treatment at the Trishuli hospital in Nuwakot, according to Raja Ram Basnet, Nepali Army spokesperson.
Sah, who is from Saptari district in Madhesh province, told security personnel that he was chanting 'Hare Krishna’ mantra for the last nine days while trapped inside the tunnel.
“I was chanting Hare Krishna mahamantra for the past nine days,” he said, briefly talking about the incident soon after he was taken out safely.
He said he stayed behind while others fled after the disaster because he felt responsible for everyone’s safety.
Sad said he was working in the control room when the accident occurred. “I was working in the control room. My responsibility was to save everyone’s life.” He said he urged everyone to run after the accident, but by the time others had left, it was too late for him to escape.
'I communicated with thee-four people'
Asked how many people might still be trapped inside, he said he had heard or communicated with three or four people in his vicinity. “There were only three or four people with whom we were able to communicate, nearby, by talking or making noises.”
Sah also said there could be more people trapped deeper inside the tunnel, including around the powerhouse. “Not everyone may have been able to escape. The tunnel is very long,” he said, adding that the force of the floodwater could have carried people deeper inside.
Maharjan’s wife said her husband, who is from Kathmandu, had been given a “second life” and thanked rescuers who risked their lives to save him.
“He has returned with a second life. We are extremely happy,” his wife, Hira Shobha, was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post. “We had been waiting. I am now going to the hospital to see my husband.” She said the days had been an extremely painful and difficult time for her and her family. “It was so difficult to get through those days. It wasn’t one day or two days. We could neither eat nor sleep.” “We believed he was still in there. We believed he would come back. We suffered because it took a little longer,” she said.
She thanked everyone involved in the rescue operation.
workers have been pulled alive from a tunnel at Nepal’s Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, nine days after floodwaters swept through the Trishuli corridor. At least 39 people are said to be trapped, with rescue operations underway.
Sanjay Sah, a mechanical foreman, was brought out first on Friday (September 4). Mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan followed. Shri Ram Neupane, a Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker and engineer taking part in the rescue, identified the two men.
Rescuers made contact with people underground. Voices were heard through the tunnel, prompting the Nepali Army and Armed Police Force to step up efforts to reach the trapped men.
“The rescue team called out, ‘Don’t panic, we are here to rescue you,’ and received a response from inside saying, ‘Okay,’” Neupane said.
Rescue crews now believe additional workers may remain inside. Neupane said the team had confirmed that more than one person was underground and continued searching after the two men were brought out.
Around 600 children remain unaccounted for in Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts after the devastating flash floods, as the death toll rose to 1,282 on Friday with more than 4,700 missing.
The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal, leaving a trail of destruction.
So far, Nepal Police has recovered 359 bodies in Chitwan, 218 in Nawalparasi East, 208 in Nawalparasi West, 185 in Nuwakot, 72 in Gorkha, 60 in Dhading, 140 in Rasuwa, and 38 in Tanahu.
(With inputs from Prabhat Khanal)
Live Updates
- 4 Sept 2026 7:43 PM IST
Tibet flash flood death toll rises to 31, another 531 missing
The death toll in the flash flood that struck Gyirong county in Tibet near the Nepal border last week has increased to 31, with 531 others still missing, Chinese officials said on Friday.
So far, the rescue teams have recovered 987 pieces of personal belongings in the area, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, quoting local emergency response and rescue authorities.
According to figures released August 30, the missing included 261 foreigners, including 49 from India and 22 from other countries, Xinhua had reported, citing an official briefing in Tibet. The missing people included 104 people from Nepal, 33 from Latvia, 18 from the United States, 15 from Britain, six each from Canada and Australia and the rest from other countries.
The Chinese officials were sharing details about the missing foreigners with embassies based in Beijing.
The massive flash flood struck the immigration post at the Gyirong-Nepal border on August 26, where hundreds waited on both sides either to enter or exit Tibet.
- 4 Sept 2026 7:42 PM IST
Nepal’s death toll due to floods rises to 1,295
The death toll due to flash floods in Nepal rose to 1,295 on Friday as more bodies were recovered from the affected areas.
The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal, leaving a trail of destruction.
So far, 1,293 bodies have been recovered from eight different districts across Nepal. These include 359 bodies recovered in Chitwan district, 221 in Nawalparasi East, 212 in Nawalparasi West and 186 in Nuwakot.
Similarly, 140 bodies were recovered in Rasuwa, 72 in Gorkha, 65 in Dhading and 38 from Tanahu, according to Nepal Police.
With two victims of the flood dying in two different hospitals in Kathmandu on Friday, the death toll has risen to 1,295.
The joint command of security forces is actively conducting search and rescue operations for the estimated 5,000 missing. So far, 13,093 people have been rescued from the affected areas.
- 4 Sept 2026 3:05 PM IST
Kabir Maharajan’s family reunites with him after a 10-day ordeal
The family of Kabir Maharajan has reached a Kathmandu hospital to see him after he was rescued from the Trishuli 3A tunnel, where he had remained trapped for 10 days.
Maharajan was taken to hospital for treatment following his rescue. His family, after days of uncertainty, finally had the chance to see him in person.
His sister described the moment as overwhelming, saying the family had stopped expecting him to return safely.
“We are very happy; we are here to meet him. We do not have a limit to our happiness; he had been trapped in the tunnel for 10 days. This is a miracle. We had once given up hope… The time when the news came, I had just performed the pooja. I then called other sisters and thanked God for bringing my brother safely back," she said, as quoted by ANI.
The rescue brought an emotional turn for the family after days spent waiting for news from the disaster-hit hydropower project.
- 4 Sept 2026 2:29 PM IST
Nepal rescue teams continue search for 39 trapped workers
The Nepal Army is providing first aid at the rescue site before airlifting them to Kathmandu by helicopter for further treatment. Rescue teams continue to search the tunnel for others who remain trapped. Sanjay Shah, who was rescued from the tunnel, said that all the people trapped inside are alive. An estimated 39 people are believed to be trapped inside the tunnel.
(Inputs by Prabhat Khanal)
- 4 Sept 2026 1:47 PM IST
DNA tests planned for three Indians missing in Nepal disaster
The families of missing Indian nationals have not yet received confirmation of their whereabouts, as Nepal begins using DNA testing to identify victims of the August 26 disaster.
DNA samples will be collected from relatives of Vidisha engineer Swati Bagrecha and Raisen residents Vishesh Rajput and Himanshu Shakya, officials said on Friday.
Bagrecha, 50, had travelled to Nepal for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra with a 77-member group. She was near the Nepal-Tibet border when the disaster struck and has not been heard from since.
“Her mobile is still ringing, but she is not answering our calls. We are extremely worried about her safety,” her brother Prashant had told PTI.
Bagrecha’s family has been contacted by the Canadian government regarding DNA testing. Her relatives are expected to meet Vidisha SP Rohit Kashwani before samples are collected.
Rajput and Shakya had travelled to Nepal for work at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydroelectric Project. Four colleagues were traced after the disaster, but the two men remain missing.
The families are now awaiting DNA procedures a
- 4 Sept 2026 1:45 PM IST
Nepal announces flood relief package, plans safer settlements
Nepal has denied seeking compensation from India or other countries over the disaster, with Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal saying, "Neither I nor anyone in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Government of Nepal has claimed or asked for compensation from India or any other country, including China or the United States."
Earlier, Khanal had said major emitters had a responsibility toward countries facing severe climate losses, calling the disaster a “Himalayan Tsunami”.
Meanwhile, Nepal has announced relief measures for businesses damaged by the August 26 floods. Firms that lost vehicles, machinery or equipment can bring in replacements without customs duties, while affected borrowers may receive loan restructuring and rescheduling.
Local authorities have also been asked to consider temporary tax and fee concessions.
The government is preparing plans to relocate communities whose homes were swept away. Officials said new settlements will be planned away from flood-risk zones, while roads and bridges will be restored first.
Security personnel involved in rescue work will receive risk allowances and meal expenses.
- 4 Sept 2026 1:40 PM IST
Watch: How two men survived nine days trapped underground in Nepal
Two workers were pulled alive from a Nepal hydropower tunnel after spending nine days trapped underground. Watch how rescuers reached them and brought them to safety.
- 4 Sept 2026 1:38 PM IST
The two men who survived nine days trapped in Nepal tunnel
For nine days, Nepal Army personnel kept searching for workers trapped inside the Trishuli-3 'A' Hydropower Project after devastating flooding along the Bhote Koshi River in Rasuwa.
Then came the moment rescuers had been waiting for.
With hopes of finding anyone alive underground beginning to diminish, rescue teams brought the first survivor out of the tunnel, carrying him on their shoulders.
Sanjay Sah was the first worker pulled to safety. He was taken to the Nepal Army barracks in Trishuli for medical care. A second worker, Kabir Maharjan, was rescued from the same tunnel soon after, reported NDTV.
Officials cited in reports said the two men were located roughly 170 metres from the tunnel entrance.
The rescue ended days of uncertainty for the workers’ families and gave fresh hope to teams still searching the hydropower site.
- 4 Sept 2026 10:54 AM IST
Nepal denies seeking compensation from India over floods: Report
Nepal has denied seeking financial compensation from India, China or the US over the devastating flash floods that struck the country last week.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said neither he nor Nepal’s Foreign Ministry or government had made such a request.
"Neither I nor anyone in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Government of Nepal has claimed or asked for compensation from India or any other country, including China or the United States," Khanal told ANI. He said Nepal’s appeal was instead for the international community to view the disaster through the lens of climate change and its growing impact on vulnerable communities.
The clarification comes days after Khanal spoke in stronger terms about climate-related losses in an interview published to Kantipur TV as reported by The Kathmandu Post.
At the time, he said Nepal was moving away from treating post-disaster assistance simply as aid and toward what he described as “justice and compensation”.
Khanal argued that major greenhouse gas emitters had a responsibility toward countries facing severe climate impacts despite contributing little to global emissions.
"The major industrial emitters, such as China, which is the world’s top emitter, the United States at number two, and India at number three, have a historical responsibility to compensate vulnerable nations like Nepal," he said. He also described the disaster as a “Himalayan Tsunami” rather than a standard flood.
- 4 Sept 2026 10:37 AM IST
Two rescued workers identified
Two workers rescued from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project have been identified as Kabir Maharajan and Sanjay Shah.
Shah, 30, works as a mechanical foreman with the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). Maharjan, 45, is a supervisor at the Trishuli-3 'A' Hydropower Project.
The rescue brought relief to Maharjan’s family. His brother, Amir Maharjan, told news agency AFP, "I am so happy, my heart is lighter,"
Rescue teams continued searching the tunnels after local media reported that voices from inside had been heard. The reports raised hopes that more workers could still be trapped underground at the Trishuli 3A site.
