A joint Nepali-South Korean rescue team pulled a Chinese worker alive from the 225-meter tunnel at Nepal’s Trishuli hydropower plant after 10 days, with medics assessing his condition.
That extraction raised the number of tunnel survivors to three after two Nepali workers were brought out alive on Friday from the same site.
About 900 workers remain missing across 12 hydropower projects nationwide, and authorities estimate roughly 500 may still be trapped inside tunnels.
The Aug. 26 floods have killed at least 1,300 people and left more than 5,000 missing; Nepal’s disaster agency says a glacial collapse was the most likely trigger.
Searches are still underway for nine missing South Korean nationals, underscoring the disaster’s international toll.
How did a worker survive 10 days trapped inside a Himalayan tunnel after a catastrophic glacier collapse?
Could early warning systems have predicted the massive glacier failure that trapped hundreds of workers in Nepal?
Are massive hydropower projects in the Himalayas becoming deadly traps as climate change accelerates glacial melting?
Nepal’s 2026 Trishuli Disaster: Over 1,200 Dead, 5,000 Missing After Glacial Collapse—Rescue, Climate Crisis, and Hydropower Fallout
Overview
Driven by global climate change, rising temperatures in the Himalayas caused glaciers and permafrost to weaken, leading to a massive glacial collapse on August 26, 2026. This triggered a deadly chain reaction: a huge chunk of ice and rock crashed into a river, dammed it, and hours later unleashed a catastrophic flash flood. The disaster killed over a thousand people, left thousands missing, destroyed hydropower plants and infrastructure, and trapped workers deep underground. Despite the devastation, a dramatic rescue nine days later brought hope, while Nepal called for climate justice and urgent international support to rebuild and protect its people.