Context:

Rescuers in Nepal have freed two men from the Trishuli 3A Hydropower tunnel more than a week after a devastating flash flood along the Nepal-China border, part of a massive operation to recover hundreds still presumed trapped across a network of tunnels. The first rescues emerged after engineers continued to supply air and oxygen to the flooded sections, with one man airlifted to hospital and the other briefly smiling and expressing thanks. The broader effort involves dozens of tunnels where over 150 workers were feared trapped, as authorities race to locate and save remaining labourers among more than 5,000 missing. The outlook remains precarious, but authorities hope ongoing air-lifts and rescue work will bring more survivors to safety as the operation continues in the coming days.

Dive Deeper:

• Sanjaya Shah, identified as the first person rescued, is a mechanical foreman with the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), and was the initial survivor brought out by a coordinated rescue effort.

• Kabir Maharjan, the second person rescued, reportedly smiled and expressed gratitude, while Shah was not in a condition to talk immediately after rescue.

• The rescue operation is centered on the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, with more than half a dozen tunnels under search and hundreds of workers still unaccounted for across the hydro sites along the river.

• Engineers have been pumping air into the flooded tunnels and supplying oxygen to the rescued and to others trapped, as part of a multi-front effort that includes airlifted evacuations and on-site evacuations.

• Authorities said that more than 5,000 people remain missing or unaccounted for in the broader disaster, with hundreds of workers operating in a vast tunnel network at hydro sites along the river.

• The latest developments come nine days after the flash flood killed more than 1,200 people, underscoring the scale and urgency of the rescue operation and the difficult conditions faced by rescuers.

• Additional details announced by officials indicate that efforts to rescue others are ongoing, with updates expected as teams continue to search tunnels and manage medical care for the rescued.