Nine days after disaster, two pulled alive from Nepal hydropower tunnel

Rescuers pulled two survivors from a tunnel linked ​to a hydropower station on Nepal's Trishuli River on Friday, nine days after a wall of ice, rock and mud tore through its valley, killing more than ‌1,300 people and leaving over 5,600 missing.

Officials and rescue workers say they believe the August 26 collapse of a glacier on the upper reaches of the river trapped at least 900 people in tunnels related to six hydropower projects along the waters.

The two workers pulled from the tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station are the first to be rescued from the hydropower projects and have been taken to an army hospital in the ​capital, Kathmandu, giving search teams a flicker of hope as the possibility of finding other survivors fades. The army said they had also recovered a body from the site.

Videos ​released by Nepali authorities showed Kabir Maharjan being hoisted from a hole in the ground as bystanders cheered, then lowered onto a stretcher. His ⁠colleague Sanjay Sah was brought out on a worker's back, his face still caked in mud, before army doctors fitted an oxygen mask and checked his vitals inside a rescue tent.

Sah, ​a mechanical foreman, later described staying behind in a control room to help others escape after he urged colleagues to flee upon hearing news of the disaster.

Read: Nepal must rebuild thousands of homes, no letup in search for missing

"I was in the control room, so ​my responsibility was to save everyone's lives. When there was such a big accident, it was not right for me to run away," he said in a video recording shared by Nepali authorities.

Sah told rescuers he spent time reciting mantras (verses from a prayer) while he was trapped. He said he had been in contact with three or four more people in the tunnel, while others could still be alive deeper in its reaches.

Nepal's ​army said it recovered two bodies from a tunnel at Langtang Hydropower Station and continued searching.

At least 1,287 people have been killed in Nepal in the floods that swept away houses, streets ​and schools in towns and villages near the border with China's Tibet, the disaster management authority said on Friday. More than 5,080 are still missing.

China has put the death toll in Tibet at 21, with ‌541 others ⁠listed as missing.

Rescue was a miracle

The two rescued men are now in intensive care at an army hospital, and their vital signs are stable, a source from the facility told Reuters. Mechanical supervisor Maharjan cannot move his hands or legs, but Sah's injuries are not considered critical, according to an aide to the energy minister.

Amir Maharjan, Kabir's brother, said he has not received any news officially but has been told to go to the hospital.

"I have been hearing from the news that my brother has been found. The entire family is very happy," Amir said.

A small group of ​people had managed to escape from another tunnel hours ​after the disaster struck.

Read more: How engineers in a WhatsApp group are guiding Nepal's tunnel rescue efforts

A team of experts ⁠in a WhatsApp group was guiding rescue workers in the search at the hydropower projects in what has become a valuable tool alongside helicopters and heavy machinery in the race to find survivors.

More search and rescue operations were underway around the Upper Trishuli 3A project, the Nepali army said. Rescue ​efforts were being led by the army and police, with assistance from experts from India, South Korea and China.

Flood losses estimated at $2.56 ​billion

Property, housing and infrastructure worth ⁠at least 387.5billion Nepalese rupees ($2.56billion) were lost in last week's catastrophe, Dharma Raj Upreti, chief of Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said on Friday.

Nepal will need to rebuild around 20,000 houses in flood-ravaged areas, Upreti has said, with at least 7,500 of those homes destroyed.

The disaster could result in commercial insurance losses exceeding $132.3 million, with hydropower projects accounting for most claims, according to a top ⁠official at one ​of the country's leading insurers. Eleven Nepali hydropower projects lie in the affected region and in many cases, access ​roads and above-ground infrastructure have been washed away.

At least 583 foreign nationals were missing in the floods, Nepal said on Thursday, many of them pilgrims and trekkers.

Australian disaster response specialists left for Nepal on Friday to join the search ​for survivors, as the Australian government expressed "serious concerns" for the welfare of its 36 missing citizens.

DPM Dar condoles deaths in Nepal catastrophe

Separately, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar signed the condolence book in memory of those who lost their lives in the devastating floods and landslides in Nepal, the Minister of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.

In a visit to the Embassy of Nepal in Islamabad, he conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and expressed Pakistan’s solidarity with the Government and people of Nepal, as per the statement shared by the ministry.

Dar said climate change was having a “disproportionate impact on countries of the region”, with severe consequences for lives, livelihoods and infrastructure, according to a social media post shared by MOFA.

The statement further said that DPM Dar prayed for the departed souls, the swift recovery of the injured, and the safety of those still missing.

“Reaffirming Pakistan’s support for Nepal’s relief and recovery efforts, he conveyed Pakistan’s readiness to extend all possible assistance in overcoming the consequences of this natural calamity.”