Overview
- The Trishuli 3A operation, which took place Friday, Sept. 4, recovered two men about 170 metres inside a tunnel and airlifted them to the Birendra military hospital in Kathmandu.
- The survivors were identified as Sanjay Sah, a mechanical foreman who is stable, and Kabir (Kabir/Kabir) Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor who is in critical condition and receiving intensive care.
- Rescuers and the survivors said they heard voices and briefly communicated with people underground, prompting teams to intensify efforts to reach other possible survivors in the tunnel network.
- Teams are hampered by thick mud, collapsed tunnel sections and damaged roads, so operations rely on manual digging, compressors, excavators and technical assistance from India, South Korea and China.
- The rescue renews cautious hope but comes against a vast humanitarian toll: officials report more than 1,200 dead, over 5,000 missing and roughly 900 hydroelectric workers unaccounted for, and authorities say search-and-rescue work will continue.