Rescue teams in Nepal today pulled two workers alive from an underground tunnel in the north of the country, where they had been trapped since devastating floods struck on August 26, two ministers said.
Dozens of rescue workers, assisted by specialists from India, China and South Korea, have been digging continuously for a week through several tunnels where hundreds of workers are believed to have been buried by the floods at hydroelectric plants and dam sites.
Officials estimate that a glacier collapse on August 26 in the Trishuli River area may have trapped at least 900 people in tunnels connected to 12 hydroelectric plants along the river. Rescue operations are continuing in search of possible survivors.
Rescue efforts have focused on another hydroelectric plant, where 46 trapped workers are believed to still be alive.
Immediately after the disaster, Nepalese authorities estimated that around 100 workers could be trapped in a tunnel at the Trishuli-3 project.
The latest official death toll stands at at least 1,280, with more than 5,600 people missing.
The government in Kathmandu released photos this morning showing the two workers, Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan, being carried out on stretchers by rescuers.
