Two workers rescued from Nepal tunnel nine days after floods which left more than 1,200 dead
Search operations remain ongoing to locate hundreds more missing
Two workers have been pulled out alive from a Nepal hydropower project tunnel nine days on from a flash flood which killed more than 1,200 people.
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The rescue operation took place on the Trishuli river Nepal on Friday, but efforts are still ongoing to locate hundreds more labourers working in the network of tunnels.
The pair, named by local authorities as foreman Sanjay Shah and Kabir Maharjan, a supervisor at the Upper Trishuli 3A, were rescued 170 metres underground.
Local media reported that Shah was "not in a condition to talk" and airlifted to hospital, but Maharjan was smiling and "thankful".
Both workers are said to have injuries to their hands and legs, "possibly" caused by crawling through the tunnel, the Nepal Electricity Agency (NEA) reported.
Around 270 people have been rescued from the tunnels where experts believed workers are surviving on air pockets.
The workers were rescued nine days after devastating flash floods which has killed over 1,259 people, believed to have been caused by a glacier collapse.
It is believed that a total of 5,000 people are missing in the wake of the flooding on the Nepal-China border.
So far, 21 people have been killed, and 541 are missing on the Chinese side of the border in Tibet.
Rescue efforts in the hydroelectric project tunnels are continuing, as pictures and videos shared by rescue teams show earth-moving equipment digging and shovelling mud and rocks under lights in the dark of the night.
Arnold Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, told the AFP news agency that rescue crews remain optimistic.
He said that teams had already dug through debris blocking the tunnel for up to 60 metres (196 feet) and added: "Right now, I'm glass three-quarters full.
"After a week of 24/7 heartache, we might, just, be back in miracle country."
Asish Gurung, a mountain guide helping in the tunnel rescue, said earlier this week: "Our first rescue observation at Trishuli Hydro Power plant shows that it is not humanly possible to go into the tunnel.
"We need machines like bulldozers and excavators. There are two of them here now. One is not functioning, and the other is being repaired."
Prime Minister Balendra Shah also pointed out that the catastrophic event signalled the growing risks that the Himalayan region faces.
"The region must therefore remain vigilant. The time has come for us to strongly raise before the international community the disasters we are experiencing as a consequence of climate change," Shah said in his post.