Two trapped workers pulled alive from Nepal tunnel more than a week after deadly floods

UNITED STATES: POKHARA, Nepal, Two workers in Nepal were pulled out alive from a hydropower tunnel Friday, nine days after devastating floods swept the Himalayan region and left thousands of people dead or missing.

In a rare glimmer of hope, emergency teams rescued two men, a mechanical foreman named Sanjay Sah, 30, and a mechanical supervisor named Kabir Maharjan, 45, according to Nepal's army and the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Authority. A body was also recovered, Nepal's army said.

Rescue officials said the voices of other workers could be heard inside the tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant along the Trishuli River in Nepal's border district of Rasuwa. At least 557 workers are still believed to be missing there, with about 115 believed to be trapped in the main tunnel, according to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.

In a video shared by Nepalese authorities, Sah said he spent his days trapped underground "chanting mantras to give myself hope" while hearing others trapped and calling out for help.

Sah said the "primary duty" of his job is "to safeguard everyone's life," adding that there were some 40 to 50 people in the tunnel at the time of the incident.

"I made sure to evacuate everyone else, but I didn't get the chance to escape myself," he said, speaking from the hospital in the video.

He said there could still be other survivors on his side of the tunnel, while there could be workers on the powerhouse side of the tunnel "who didn't make it out in time."

This Bay News report is based on originating coverage from NBC.