Two workers in Nepal were pulled out alive from a hydropower tunnel Friday, nine days after devastating floods swept the Himalayan region and left thousands of people dead or missing.
asserted
floods → pull → people
In a rare glimmer of hope, emergency teams rescued two men — a mechanical foreman named Sanjay Sah, 30, and a mechanical supervisor named Kabir Maharjan, 45, according to Nepal’s army and the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Authority.
uncertain
teams → rescue → army
A body was also recovered, Nepal’s army said.
asserted
army → recover → ?
Two Nepal flood survivors rescued from hydropower tunnel
Rescue officials said the voices of other workers could be heard inside the tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant along the Trishuli River in Nepal’s border district of Rasuwa.
uncertain
voices → rescue → Rasuwa
At least 557 workers are still believed to be missing there, with about 115 believed to be trapped in the main tunnel, according to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.
uncertain
115 → believe → Nepal
In a video shared by Nepalese authorities, Sah said he spent his days trapped underground “chanting mantras to give myself hope” while hearing others trapped and calling out for help.
asserted
he → share → help
Sah said the “primary duty” of his job is “to safeguard everyone’s life,” adding that there were some 40 to 50 people in the tunnel at the time of the incident.
asserted
duty → say → incident
“I made sure to evacuate everyone else, but I didn’t get the chance to escape myself,” he said, speaking from the hospital in the video.
asserted
he → make → video
He said there could still be other survivors on his side of the tunnel, while there could be workers on the powerhouse side of the tunnel “who didn’t make it out in time.”
uncertain
who → say → time
Nepal’s army released images of the dramatic rescue on its official Facebook page, including one showing the first rescued worker covered in mud and being carried from the site on a rescuer’s shoulder.
asserted
worker → release → shoulder
“When hope is alive, even the impossible becomes possible,” the image caption read.
asserted
caption → become → ?
Officials said both men were flown to a hospital in Kathmandu, the capital, for treatment.
asserted
men → say → treatment
“I can’t explain what we are feeling at the moment.
asserted
we → explain → moment
We are just grateful to God,” Amir Maharjan, the brother of one of the rescued workers, told The Associated Press.
asserted
Maharjan → rescue → Press
He said the family was on its way to the hospital to see him.
asserted
family → say → him
The large-scale operation has involved 75 army personnel, 18 police officers and multiple experts, the army said.
asserted
army → involve → personnel
Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said one of the survivors told rescuers that more people were still alive inside the tunnel.
asserted
people → say → tunnel
“We are waiting for the rescue of more and more people,” Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina wrote on his Facebook page.
asserted
Timilsina → wait → page
More than 900 workers are missing from about a dozen hydropower projects in Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to local officials.
uncertain
500 → miss → officials
Rescuers have been struggling to access the hydropower projects, many of which are in remote, mountainous areas, with bad weather adding to the difficulties.
asserted
weather → struggle → difficulties
The flooding damaged roads and collapsed sections of tunnels, filling them with mud and other debris and blocking some entrances.
asserted
flooding → damage → entrances
Aided by foreign experts, rescue teams have been working around the clock using controlled blasts, excavators and earth-moving equipment to try to reach the trapped workers amid concerns about air quality in the tunnels and the workers’ access to drinking water.
asserted
teams → aid → water
Nepal’s army said Friday that a separate rescue effort had recovered two bodies from a tunnel at the Langtang Hydropower Project.
asserted
effort → say → Project
Authorities in Nepal say at least 1,287 people were killed and more than 5,000 remain missing after the Aug. 26 disaster, which is believed to have been set off by a high-altitude glacier collapse on the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet region.
asserted
which → say → Nepal
Nepal’s disaster agency estimated Friday that flooding caused at least 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees ($2.5 billion) in damage to infrastructure and property.
asserted
flooding → estimate → infrastructure
Rescue efforts are also still underway in China, where a mudslide hit a major land crossing between the two countries, with the only road to the site in Tibet’s Gyirong county fully reopening only Wednesday.
asserted
road → hit → county
Chinese officials say at least 31 people were killed and 531 are missing on the Tibet side of the border.
asserted
531 → say → border
More than 800 foreign nationals are among those missing in the area, which is popular with trekkers and pilgrims.
asserted
which → miss → trekkers
According to the State Department, 75 Americans remained unaccounted for as of Wednesday, while 16 had made their way to safety.
uncertain
16 → accord → safety
Sunil Pandey reported from Pokhara, Nepal, and Adela Suliman from London.
asserted
Pandey → report → London
The Aporia
