At least two people have been rescued alive after being buried in a hydropower tunnel for nine days after deadly flash floods hit Nepal, leaving them trapped in deep mud. The two men were rescued during an ongoing operation at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, a hydropower project in one of the areas worst affected by the catastrophic Himalayan flooding.

Sanjay Shah, a foreman at Upper Trishuli 3A, and Kabir Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor, were rescued from a depth of 170 meters inside the tunnel, according to Nepal Army spokesperson Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet.

Shah, 30, was the first to be rescued and was in a “stable condition.” Maharjan, who was rescued second, was in intensive care, the Nepal prime minister’s office said.

A video posted by the Nepal Army showed a rescue team entering the air pocket in the narrow tunnel, where the two men were stuck. Men in orange vests can be seen strapping a man on a makeshift stretcher before carrying him outside. 

Rescuers called their discovery a “miracle” after the August 26 glacial and mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border, which has killed at least 1,280 people and left more than 5,500 missing. 

According to experts and those monitoring the rescue operation, the deep underground sections of the massive 4.5-kilometer-long tunnel structure contained a stable air pocket with breathable oxygen and trapped water.

Australian rescue expert Arnold Dix, who has been supporting the operation remotely, explained that as floodwaters surged, workers likely ran upward through the tunnel, essentially being chased by rising water, boulders, sediment, and mud.

While the tunnel entrances were heavily choked by mud, boulders, and water for the past nine days since the glacier collapse and flood, the specific inner chamber where the men sheltered protected them from drowning or direct impact.

Dix told news agency AFP that earlier on Friday, teams at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project believed they had heard a faint response from inside the tunnel.

“They believe they received a faint response from inside saying, ‘hunchha’, yes or OK,” Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, told AFP, adding that he was en route to Nepal to join the rescue effort.

He said rescuers had called into the tunnel: “Don’t worry, we are rescuing you.”

Experts believe the emergency power inside the tunnel likely failed early on, and two rescued men survived without light, relying on whatever water and food supplies they could find inside and rationing their physical energy in the dark, damp underground environment until rescuers detected their voices using listening devices and bored into the blockage.

The rescue of two men has renewed hope for at least 35 additional workers believed to be trapped inside this specific tunnel.

The Search Continues

Searches were, meanwhile, continuing at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, where the two men were rescued, as well as multiple other sites, with at least 12 hydropower projects smashed by the floods. Rescuers have spent the past nine days clearing tons of debris using excavators while simultaneously pushing in pipes to pump clean air inside and prevent the air from turning toxic.

The government had initially said it believed more than 100 workers could be alive inside multiple tunnels. 

Nepali rescuers, aided by experts from India, China, and South Korea, have continued searching for survivors feared trapped inside hydropower tunnels, but teams have repeatedly hit walls of hard-packed debris. (NDTV)

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Rescuers struggled on Monday through mud and debris for a sixth day, as the number of missing people soared to nearly 4,500 since tsunami-like glacial floods roared down from the China-Nepal border, creating an “unimaginable” disaster.

The latest confirmed death toll surged above 900, with unidentified bodies buried in mass graves after DNA sampling.

The huge wave of freezing water, rocks and debris that smashed into villages and towns on Wednesday killed at least 939 people in Nepal and in Tibet, in China, with at least 17 bodies also pulled from rivers downstream in India.

Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Sunday called the disaster “unimaginable and heartbreaking”.

In Chitwan district, army personnel climbed out of rubber dinghies and carried dead victims in blue body bags up a river bank, placing them in a row along a dirt road.

Rescue teams are in a race against time in treacherous conditions to free around 100 hydropower workers believed trapped in multiple tunnels — digging, drilling and blasting through debris.

So far, three bodies have been pulled from two tunnels, and the teams have found routes blocked with mud.

An Indian army officer deployed as part of a specialised tunnel rescue team said rescuers were digging through “sludge”. He told AFP he was “still hopeful” there were survivors inside.

Nepal’s Home Affairs Ministry says 20,600 personnel have been mobilised, and that more than 3,100 people have been rescued from the disaster zone.

Army personnel were seen unloading bodies of victims from helicopters in Nepal’s Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts on Monday.

Amid the horror, there has been some hope; a six-year-old pulled out of the mud Friday was reunited with her parents after police found her crying for her mother.

“Her body was trapped in mud, but her head was outside,” Nepali Armed Police spokesman Netra Bahadur Karki told AFP. 

“She is out of danger and recovering at a hospital.”

‘Changing climate’ 

The disaster was sparked by a glacial collapse, the US Geological Survey said. 

Climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, raising the risk of such disasters.

“The people of Nepal are one of the major victims of the changing climate and its impact,” Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said. 

Scientists say the Himalayas, the world’s highest mountain range, are melting faster as global temperatures rise.

Aid needs are enormous after entire communities were swept away.

“This is an unfolding disaster,” UN children’s fund official Abiodun Banire told AFP, saying the needs of the tens of thousands impacted were vast.

Roads have been wiped out, power plants destroyed and dozens of bridges smashed.

“There are too many challenges,” said police officer E. Hawadi in badly affected Nuwakot district.

Overflowing mortuaries 

With mortuaries overflowing, Nepal has begun burying some of the hundreds of bodies recovered — after taking DNA samples so families can later retrieve them.

In Chitwan district, mourning relatives cremated some of the dead, while in riverside villages like Devighat, survivors were struggling to salvage any remaining belongings from their devastated homes.

Kathmandu has appealed for international support, saying Nepal needed “more than a thousand” freezer units to store bodies.

Distraught families watch images of bodies on screens at community centres in a bid to identify their loved ones.

Among Nepal’s list of the missing are 592 foreigners, including tourists who had come for mountain trekking, as well as Hindu pilgrims seeking spiritual peace at Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash.

In China, Tibet is largely inaccessible to foreign journalists, and Chinese authorities are the only source of information.

More than 2,000 personnel are part of rescue operations there, but they have faced intense challenges, and are slowly advancing towards the disaster’s epicentre.

China has said 16 people died in Tibet, with 546 missing. 

Tibetan advocacy groups in exile have questioned China’s account of the disaster.

Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, called for China to disclose “complete and verifiable information about the damage and casualties”.

Beijing’s foreign ministry said Monday that the “release of information has been open, transparent and timely”, and rejected international reports that it is underreporting deaths. (FRANCE 24 / AFP)

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A group of persons who had been trapped following flooding in Anuradhapura and in Polonnaruwa have been rescued by the Sri Lanka Air Force. 

One person who had been trapped on a coconut tree since yesterday (27), following flooding caused by the overflow of the Kalawewa in Anuradhapura, and six persons stranded this morning (28) on the Manampitiya bridge in Polonnaruwa, were safely rescued by a Bell‑212 helicopter.

According to the Air Force, the helicopter used belongs to the No. 7 Helicopter Squadron of the Sri Lanka Air Force base at Hingurakgoda.

The rescued persons have been transferred to safe locations. (Newswire)

Man trapped on a coconut tree since yesterday due to rising floodwaters from the Kala Wewa in Anuradhapura was safely rescued this morning by the Sri Lanka Air Force using a Bell-212 helicopter pic.twitter.com/guA6lNXENR

— NewsWire (@NewsWireLK) November 28, 2025

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Three people who had been trapped on the upper floor of a two‑storey house in Mahawa Ella this afternoon, following flooding caused by the overflow of the Deduru Oya, have been safely rescued.

The individuals were rescued by a Bell‑212 helicopter belonging to the Sri Lanka Air Force and transferred to a secure location.

This operation was carried out by the rescue team attached to the Ratmalana base of the Sri Lanka Air Force. (Newswire)

Sri Lanka Air Force Bell 212 helicopter rescued three people trapped on the top of a two-storey building in Mahawa due to flooding pic.twitter.com/W5OyChpLDL

— NewsWire (@NewsWireLK) November 27, 2025

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A group of individuals, including foreign nationals, have been rescued after being trapped due to the fire that broke out at an apartment complex in Narahenpita today. 

It was reported that the blaze originated on the fifth floor of the building on Dabare Mawatha in Narahenpita. 

Several fire trucks were dispatched to douse the fire, during which individuals, including residents trapped inside the building, were rescued. 

According to reports, the fire has been brought under control. (Newswire)

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A cargo vessel experienced a technical fault and issued a distress call roughly 100 nautical miles south of Sri Lanka, prompting a rapid search and rescue operation by the Sri Lanka Navy.

The vessel, named MV INTEGRITY STAR, reported a technical failure while navigating the southern waters of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka said.

The Navy has initiated a search and rescue mission. 

Fourteen crew members are on board the MV INTEGRITY STAR, including nationals from India, Turkey and Azerbaijan, the ministry confirmed. (Newswire)

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A group of bystanders have risked their lives to rescue a young couple who had been swept into the sea from the rocky edge behind the Dutch Hospital building at the Galle Fort.

The incident was captured on video by one of the people present at the scene.

According to reports, the couple were on the rocky edge behind the Dutch Hospital at Galle Fort last evening when, suddenly, a strong wave pulled both of them into the sea.

The officer in charge of security and administration at the Dutch Hospital, who had witnessed the incident, had jumped into the sea to rescue them. 

He then alerted nearby patrons at surrounding tourist establishments, who joined him in a strenuous effort to save the couple.

The rescued couple, who are residents of Ahangama and Lanumodara, were thereafter admitted to the Galle National Hospital. (Newswire)

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A mother and her child who were swept away by strong currents in the Menik Ganga near the Kataragama Devalaya on April 26 were rescued by troops from Sri Lanka’s National Guard. 

Heavy rains and the release of water from the Weheragala Reservoir had raised the river’s water level, leading to the incident. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Police has felicitated a youth who had attempted to rescue a 19-year-old girl who was abducted in the Davulagala area in Gampola in January. 

The youth, who had sustained several injuries in the incident, was recognized for his heroic rescue attempt.

Video footage emerged of the girl being kidnapped by a group in a van on 11 January, with many social media users praising the youth for his brave attempt to rescue the schoolgirl.

At the time, Police investigations revealed that the main suspect in the abduction was the girl’s relative from her paternal side, and it was caused over marriage issues. (Newswire)

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A group of students that had gone missing while exploring the Hanthana mountain trail have been rescued and were brought back safely this morning, the Sri Lanka Army said. 

According to the Army, the students had ventured into the mountains yesterday but had delayed returning after one student had developed a cramp.

The students had lost their way becoming stranded by 06.00 pm due to loss of light and sudden mist. 

Upon being informed via the Police emergency hotline, the students were rescued during a joint search operation conducted by the Police and Army. 

It is reported that a group of 10 students from the Colombo and Kiribathgoda areas had engaged in the excursion due to school holidays. 

The students aged between 16 and 17 years had entered the Hanthana mountain trail via the Sarasavigama area in Peradeniya yesterday. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka Navy rescued a family of three, including a young child, trapped by rising floodwaters in Mawadiodei, Chenkaladi yesterday.

The Navy said SLNS Kashyapa carried out this relief operation and successfully rescued the family stranded on farmland in the flood-affected area. The family was subsequently relocated to the District Secretariat of Eravur.

The rescue operation took place after the Sri Lanka Navy had deployed three flood relief teams to assist affected communities in the Mawadiodei, Mailawadduwan, and Manmunai areas in response to the flood situation in the Batticaloa district due to inclement weather.

The Navy has also mobilized 135 additional relief teams, ready for immediate deployment to assist those affected by flooding. (Newswire)

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The public engaged in a joint effort to rescue a toddler who had accidentally gotten locked inside a vehicle in Sri Lanka.

Video footage shows the toddler locked inside a mini lorry parked on the side of a busy road of which details are unknown.

A Police officer and the public together are seen attempting multiple ways to unlock the vehicle.

However, the toddler is rescued only after the spare key of the vehicle is brought to the location. (NewsWire)

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