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Kathmandu, Nepal — Rescuers in Nepal pulled two workers alive from a hydropower tunnel Friday as emergency teams continued an operation to reach others believed to be trapped inside, officials said.
The two men were rescued from the Trishuli 3A tunnel nine days after floods, likely caused by a glacier collapse, devastated towns and swept away villages in Nepal on Aug. 26.
Nepalese lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane posted about the second rescue on his Facebook page shortly after army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet confirmed the first trapped worker’s rescue.
CBS News’ Ramy Inocencio reports that “there’s renewed hope that we might be seeing more survivors come out — possibly dozens more, I’m told — because rescuers have already heard more voices deeper in those tunnels.”
Rescuers first heard voices from inside the tunnel Friday morning, confirming that people were alive and enabling them to locate the two men, Neupane said.
Local television news channels showed images of the first rescued worker covered in mud and being carried from the site on a rescuer’s shoulder. Officials said both men were in stable condition and were flown to a hospital in Kathmandu.
When mechanical foreman Sanjay Shah was pulled out he said “‘thank you,” but he’s been advised not to talk anymore because of his condition, CBS News’ Inocencio says.
Amir Maharjan, brother of the other rescued worker, mechanical engineer Kabir Maharjan, told The Associated Press he “can’t explain what we are feeling at the moment. We are just grateful to God.” He said the family was on its way to the hospital to see him.
Kabir Maharjan’s wife, Hirashova, told CBS News partner network BBC News, “We couldn’t properly eat or drink for 10 days. We were very scared. Now we are all happy. We are even crying.”
At least 557 workers are missing from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project along the Trishuli River, with about 115 believed to be trapped in the main tunnel, according to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.
Nepal Army/Handout via REUTERS 
At least 1,259 people were killed in the floods and more than 5,000 remain missing, according to the country’s disaster management agency. China, as of late Wednesday, said 21 people were killed and 541 were missing on the Tibet side of the border.
About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to local authorities.
Prabesh Subedi contributed to this report.
