Home · Politics · Sep 7 archive
Rescue of Workers Injured During White House Construction in Nepal
Confirmed
In Short: Two men were rescued from a hydropower tunnel buried by debris during a flash flood in Nepal.
Two men were rescued from a hydropower tunnel buried by debris during a flash flood in Nepal, according to reports. Sanjay Shah, a 30-year-old mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, a 45-year-old mechanical supervisor, were pulled alive from the main tunnel at the construction site of the Trishuli 3A plant early on Friday.
The rescue operation was carried out by a 15-member team, predominantly consisting of state emergency operatives, who joined the search and rescue efforts on the request of Nepal’s government. The team’s efforts have raised hopes that more workers may be rescued from the hydropower stations or construction projects in Nepal.
Nepal’s Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina expressed optimism about the ongoing search and rescue operations. "Officials remain hopeful that more workers will be rescued," he said. The two men were receiving medical treatment and would be taken to a hospital in Kathmandu, while "search and rescue operations are ongoing," according to the Nepali Army.
Before the rescue, the two men were helped to their feet by rescuers and carried on the backs of emergency workers, raising their hand as they were taken towards a helicopter. The pair are the first to be rescued from hydropower stations or construction projects in Nepal, according to Al Jazeera.
The Trishuli 3A project, which is facing a labor shortage, has seen at least 557 workers go missing. The incident highlights the ongoing challenges and risks faced by workers in construction projects, especially in the aftermath of natural disasters.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- Before I began studying the health effects of 9/11, I was examining workers exposed to neurotoxic metals and industrial pollution in northern Italy.
- As a physician in occupational health who works with 9/11 first responders, I can easily imagine those same thoughts from other firefighters, paramedics and construction workers trying to save lives after the deadly summer 2026 earthquakes in Venezuela, Colombia and Indonesia or the disastrous floods in Nepal.
- According to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s preliminary assessment, the property had no sanctioned building plan for the existing structure, unauthorised construction in its basement and no fire NOC.
- The civic body also said construction in the basement was unauthorised.
- Before the disaster, Delhi Police had flagged ongoing illegal construction at the property to the MCD on two occasions in March, according to The Indian Express.
- Senior Advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha, assisting the court as amicus curiae in a case concerning illegal construction, said the MCD had been aware of unauthorised construction at the property since 2015 but had taken no concrete action.
- Hindustan Times reported that the inquiry found serious lapses in the civic body’s handling of illegal construction and that it could not produce evidence of inspection or preventive action after a complaint received in March.