- When rescuers reached the tunnel, they found it full of water and dug an emergency trench to drain it. On Friday morning, about 50 metres in, they heard a faint voice. The team called out, “Don’t panic, we are rescuing you,” and a voice replied, “OK.”
- Two workers were found alive, giving hope to the rescue team.
- Arnold Dix, an Australian engineer and geologist, calls the rescue a “triumph for humans and humanity.”
- Dix states, “We now have proof that people can survive this long.”
- Dix warns, “The team’s lives are at risk right now and if they can’t get out in time they will drown.”
- Dix exclaims, “Like, this is not a drill, we are witnessing one of the great rescues of the 21st century.”
- The rescue team was tunnelling to the “Goldilocks zone” at the top of the 11-storey Trishuli 3A power station, hoping to find more survivors.
- More than 270 people have been rescued from various hydropower projects; at least 1,294 were killed and over 5,000 remain missing.
Arnold Dix, an Australian engineer, expressed that the discovery of two alive workers in the Trishuli 3A hydropower project offers significant hope. He stated, “We’ve found two people alive, so that gives us hope.” This comes after a week of exhaustive rescue efforts following devastating floods that have claimed at least 1,294 lives and left over 5,000 missing according to Nepal's disaster management agency.
Rescuers faced challenges, including a flooded tunnel, which necessitated the digging of an emergency trench. Despite fears of drowning, a faint voice was heard from within the tunnel, prompting the team to reassure the trapped workers, “Don’t panic, we are rescuing you.” The response, “OK,” signaled hope for further rescues.1
Dix noted the scale of the disaster, stating, “Normally, I deal with a single disaster – this is 27 concurrently.” He emphasized the importance of the rescue, calling it one of the great rescues of the 21st century, while also acknowledging the risks faced by the rescue team. “Yes, we have the reward of having rescued two people now, but we have to be so careful,” he cautioned.
As the rescue team continues to tunnel towards the so-called “Goldilocks zone” at the top of the 11-storey power station, hopes remain high for finding more survivors amidst the ongoing crisis.7
“Dix, who worked at Ground Zero after 9/11, says the team is tunnelling to the 'Goldilocks zone' at the top of the 11-storey Trishuli 3A power station. More than 270 people have been rescued, while at least 1,294 were killed and over 5,000 remain missing.”
The Guardian
