Rescuers in Nepal pulled two workers alive from a hydropower tunnel Friday, nine days after catastrophic floods swept through the country's border region with China.
Emergency teams are continuing efforts to reach hundreds more believed trapped inside similar tunnels.
The men, identified as mechanical foreman Sanjay Shah and mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan, were freed from the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station's tunnel along the Trishuli River, according to a statement from the office of Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha.
"As long as there is breath, there is hope!" Shrestha said in a statement. "Rescue operations are continuing in all the affected tunnels. Let everyone's efforts and prayers continue. We have not lost hope."
What do we know about the rescue?
Rescuers first heard voices from inside the tunnel Friday morning, authorities said.
Video and photos showed Maharjan, 45, pulled from a hole in the ground as bystanders cheered. Images showed him being placed on a stretcher, while Shah, 30, whose face was covered in mud, was carried out on a worker's back to a rescue tent, where army doctors fitted him with an oxygen mask and checked his vitals.
An aide to the energy minister said Maharjan could not move his hands or legs, while Shah's injuries were not considered critical. Both men were flown to a hospital in Kathmandu.
Family members reacted with relief. Amir Maharjan, Kabir's brother, told the Associated Press, "I can't explain what we are feeling at the moment. We are just grateful to god," adding that the family was heading to the hospital to see him.
What is happening at the hydropower project sites?
These were the first successful rescues concerning the hydropower projects along the Trishuli River. Officials say as many as 900 workers remain missing across a number of project sites, with roughly 500 believed trapped in tunnels, according to local authorities.
