Two workers have been rescued alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal, nine days after catastrophic floods and landslides swept through the region, killing more than 1,200 people and leaving thousands missing.

The two men were rescued on Friday from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project, one of several facilities badly affected by the disaster. Rescue teams reportedly heard voices from inside the tunnel before locating the trapped workers.

The survivors were identified as Sanjay Sah, a mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor. They were found deep inside the tunnel and brought out covered in mud before being taken to an army hospital in Kathmandu. Officials said both men were in stable condition.

The disaster struck on August 26 after what officials believe was a glacier collapse triggered a huge surge of water, mud, ice and rocks through valleys along the Trishuli River. Homes, roads, bridges and hydropower facilities were swept away.

More than 1,200 people have been killed in Nepal, while thousands remain missing. Hundreds of hydropower workers are also unaccounted for, with many believed to be trapped inside tunnels filled with mud and debris.

The rescue of Sah and Maharjan has given families renewed hope that other workers could still be alive underground.

One of the rescued men reportedly told rescuers that additional people might still be inside the tunnel.

Rescue teams from Nepal, supported by international experts, are continuing to search damaged hydropower sites. Engineers have also been using tunnel plans and technical information to help guide rescuers through the dangerous, debris-filled underground passages.

For rescuers and families waiting for news, the survival of the two men after nine days has become a rare moment of hope amid one of Nepal’s deadliest recent natural disasters.