KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Rescuers in Nepal pulled two workers alive from a tunnel Friday during an ongoing operation at the Trishul 3A tunnel, officials said.
Nepalese lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane posted the second rescue on his Facebook page shortly after army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet confirmed the first trapped worker's rescue during the operation at the tunnel.
The rescues come nine days after the Aug. 26 floods, likely caused by a glacier collapse, that devastated towns and valleys in Nepal.
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. A medical team was checking on him at the site, Basnet said.
At least 1,259 people were killed 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.
