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One World with Zain Asher

Two Men Rescued from Flooded Nepal Tunnels; Renewed Hope in Nepal after Two Men Rescued from Tunnel; Deadlocked Jury Enters 7th Day of Deliberations; Red Cross: Israel Releases Five Lebanese Prisoners. Aired 11-11:20a ET

Aired September 04, 2026 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: All right, coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher. This is "One World". Ahead on the show, a harrowing

rescue out of a Nepal tunnel more than a week after deadly flooding. CNN is on the ground.

And in Ukraine, a Russian drone hits the Kyiv headquarters of the security service in a major escalation of the war. Plus, CNN goes inside Israeli-

occupied Southern Lebanon, where villages have been reduced to rubble and local people have been cut off from the rest of the country.

All right, we begin with a dramatic rescue in Nepal. Two men have been pulled to safety out of a flooded hydropower tunnel, where they were

trapped for nine days. Both men were caught in the catastrophic flooding that hit the region last week. The area around this hydropower plant has

become pretty much unrecognizable.

Rescuers are now using satellite data to narrow down areas where people could be trapped. Dozens of workers at this plant still remain missing, but

today's recovery is giving rescuers a renewed sense of hope that perhaps more individuals can be saved as well. CNN is on the ground in Nepal and is

following this rescue mission. Our Correspondent Hanako Montgomery has more.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, when we were up at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, we saw those rescue workers, people from the Nepali Army, from

the Nepali Armed Forces, desperately trying to get access inside those tunnels. We saw them standing on poles.

They were trying to keep their balance as they were passing down equipment into the tunnels. We saw them handing down oxygen tanks, handing down

headlights, probably to get more light inside those very dark spaces. And we also saw, of course, them tugging at a rope.

I was speaking to one of the commanders there on the ground, asking him whether he thought that there might be someone alive on the other end of

the rope? And he said he just wasn't sure. Of course, there's now renewed hope because those two workers were pulled out alive earlier on Friday.

But they just aren't able to confirm at the moment whether there are more individuals in there who are still alive. Though that commander did tell me

that he believes around 40 people remain inside, and they are desperately trying to get those people out.

And we heard from one of the workers earlier on Friday, who has been evacuated to the Capital Kathmandu, where he's receiving treatment at a

military hospital. Here's what he said about his time inside that tunnel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANJAY SAH, FLOOD SURVIVOR: My responsibility was to save everyone's life. After the accident happened, I could not run by myself. I had to save

everyone. In the process of saving everyone, I told them that there was an accident in the big dam. I asked everyone to escape outside. Doing so, I

wasted time, and I could not get out. I got trapped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: I mean, absolutely heroic act on this part, on the part of this man, Sanjay Sah, who was inside the tunnel again for more than nine days.

And as you heard just then, he sacrificed essentially his time to escape the tunnel in order to save his coworkers.

And we heard earlier also from his father, who said that he actually had lost hope that his son would be alive. He believed that he might be dead,

but after getting news that Sanjay was alive, of course, this is an extremely joyous moment for his family, one that many other families are

not able to enjoy.

ASHER: Hanako Montgomery reporting there. CNN's Gage Goulding joins us live now with the very latest. Gage, this is really an extraordinary story of

survival for these two men, these two individuals that were rescued from these tunnels. I mean, when you think about the fact that they were there

for nine days, pretty much no contact with the outside world.

I mean, you heard about their loved ones themselves giving up on hope because, you know, the concern would be how would they have enough food,

water, oxygen, that sort of thing? And of course, for the rescuers themselves, it was a very dangerous mission, as you've seen time and time

again with these sorts of rescuers around the world.

Just walk us through what happens next in terms of. I mean, obviously, there's now hope that perhaps now that they've done this once, they could

perhaps do it again. Maybe there is more people that they could rescue. What's next here, Gage?

GAGE GOULDING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know the work continues. It's going to continue around the clock, just as it has. Excuse me, for the past

nine days. And you're right. You know there is hope. But what's very interesting? The father of the gentleman that you saw there laying on the

stretcher with the oxygen mask.

Whenever he was told that, hey, we got your son. He's alive, he didn't believe it. And you know I can understand that because I don't know if I

would believe it either, right? Because I mean, it's just unheard of.

[11:05:00]

There's an Indian Army Colonel that told CNN, you know, recently that after 48 hours in conditions like that, you're underground, you have no sense of

time, no sense of daylight in a dark, cramped area filled with debris. You start hallucinating. It makes sense.

So, you could only imagine what that situation was like after nine days underground. But the big question is, will they continue to find people?

After they pulled those two, they rescued those two men alive. They then recovered a body, so a third deceased body was pulled from that same tunnel

there.

But there is still hope because there's roughly 40 or so additional workers that are believed to be trapped underground there. The question is where

are they and will they be able to get to them in time? One of the managers of that actual facility there that was being worked on says that you know

he is not very confident at this point.

I'm summarizing his statement, but that he's not very confident that they will be able to get to anybody else that is survivors. But I think very

much so here. This has sparked a little bit of faith, of hope. You know, not just in these hydro power tunnels that we've been so focused on over

the last 24 hours, but you know, in different areas as well.

There's a dozen of these hydropower tunnels, with around 900 or so workers that are unaccounted for. So, a lot of work still to be done. But I think

you know the word here, especially on this Friday, is hope because I don't think anybody thought that this would happen, and very much so, these crews

working very hard, kind of a miracle that happened there.

ASHER: Absolutely, Gage Goulding, live for us. Thank you so much. My next guest is the Secretary General of the Nepal Red Cross, Rishi Khanal. Joins

us live now from Kathmandu. Our reporter on the ground there, Gage Goulding, was essentially saying that the word of the day is really hope,

right?

Because nobody expected that you would see these two men be pulled out alive from these hydropower tunnels. Obviously, if you have a family

member, if you have another family member who is still trapped, and you see that there are two men that have come out alive from all of this, I mean

that is going to give you hope.

I mean, what are the -- walk us through what are the risks involved? Just the rescue situation just in terms of trying to find more survivors here.

RISHI KHANAL, SECRETARY GENERAL OF NEPAL RED CORSS: Yeah, you are asking me?

ASHER: Yes, yes, I am. I'm. I am.

KHANAL: Yeah. The next thing is there. It is a tornado, and it is the 10th day, and it is the tornado is quite 100, more than 100 meters there, and

almost they went to three to 40 meters today, and they find these two people and three dead bodies there. The risk is there.

It is a long day, you know. It is a long time, 10 days is not a -- is not a few days. And then it is in the dark. There is very difficult, and then it

is raining now. It is in area. It is a mood. Therefore, it is very risk to get the people there.

ASHER: And when it comes to -- when it comes to sort of really helping and assisting the two men who were rescued. I mean, obviously there's a lot of

focus on the fact that they're in hospital now and the sort of immediate sort of physical needs that they have, just in terms of making sure that

they're OK after spending nine days trapped in these hydro power tunnels.

But also, there is the psychological trauma. I mean, they've had no contact with the outside world. They're only just finding out what on earth

happened. You know, last week Wednesday, just in terms of over 1000 people killed, thousands more unaccountable, unaccounted for, and really this

emotional earthquake that Nepal is going through right now.

All of that is extremely traumatizing. Not to mention the fact that their livelihoods going forward is obviously completely compromised. Just walk us

through how aid organizations are assisting with that?

KHANAL: Yes, the aid agencies are -- their psychosocial support is supporting by aid agencies. There's a Nepali society with this one, with

the help of Tribhuvan University, this social psychology department, we are sending many people to the house -- a house for the psychosocial support.

In the villages, in Bidur Nagarpalika as well, in the holding center organized. And there are many more orphans, and then the people, so that we

agreed. We have some agreement with the Tribhuvan University, and then the psychology department people are supporting for psychosocial support to the

people there.

ASHER: Moving on from the tunnels, I mean, obviously there is a massive focus and renewed hope when it comes to rescuing people who may still be

trapped, even though, of course, hope is dwindling.

[11:10:00]

Just in terms of the priorities now for the rest of Nepal, that is really grieving. I mean, the whole country has just been devastated by this

tragedy. I mean, one of the biggest focuses is, of course, children. You know, just in terms of schools being completely ruined because of this

tragedy.

You have a lot of people whose livelihoods have been compromised going forward. You know, what is the priority on that front? Just in terms of

rebuilding. I mean, we're still in the sort of first phase, the initial phase of this disaster, but there are really long-term consequences here

for Nepal.

KHANAL: Yeah, it is about 83,000 people could be the beneficiaries, you know, and they are. We have to support 83 people of these districts, and

then the school children, they don't have a school. And they could not go to school. And the students are some of the students who lost their loved

one.

They are in the holding center. And yeah, this is a big problem of the livelihood. And how -- you know not only -- they don't have shelter, they

don't have food even, and the main problem we have to focus on the drinking water and sanitation.

You know, all the drinking water facilities and the sanitation facilities has been washed away, so that it is a big problem that there could be

epidemic by cholera or other types of because the dead bodies of the cattle and then man also they are finding out when we -- when they dug the mud and

they are getting the people. This is the problem and there might be some epidemic also. It seems so.

ASHER: Yeah, I'm glad. I mean, that's such an important point. Just the sort of sanitation aspect of all of this, and the lack of sort of potable

drinking water is obviously an issue as well. I imagine that aid organizations are having to have a lot of difficult conversations. We're at

the nine-day mark when the disaster struck.

There were a lot of people who were separated from their families. You have thousands of people across Nepal that are still unaccounted for, still

missing. And you have a lot of loved ones who are trying to cling to hope, but ultimately, of course, looking at the fact that it's been nine days,

and of course that hope is dwindling.

I mean, those conversations for aid workers, for government officials, are going to be very, very difficult. How are you assisting people through

that?

KHANAL: Yeah, aid agencies actually they are doing their support for these non-food items and some management of the holding centers, and then some of

the sanitation package, are distributing for the children. There is no facility for the for reading.

And then even nowadays they have materials of this rice and other things, you know, the stable and the stable foods. But it is very difficult to who

will feed them. There are very few people they are doing this. And it cannot go long run.

And yeah, aid agencies are collecting the funds, and the aid agencies are trying to reach to the people. Even now they are struggling to get the

people in the village because it is there are -- there is no breezes and then there is due to the rain the road is very damaged and then difficult

to reach the people. That is the aid agency have also this type of problem nowadays.

ASHER: Right. Many thanks, Rishi Khanal. Thank you so much for the work that you are doing there in Kathmandu. We appreciate it. All right, Nepal

is clearly in a tough spot right now. Over 40,000 people need assistance. You have 1300 people have passed away, and thousands are still missing.

If you have the means to help and you feel called to do so, there are a list of ways that you can help. If you go to cnn.com/impact, you'll find a

whole list of aid agencies who are operating on the ground there in Nepal.

All right, court is back in session for the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. The judge instructing the 12-person panel to follow the law as he sent the

deadlocked jury to deliberate for a seventh day. The judge declined the defense attorney's request to question a holdout jury who the defense

believes lied about his willingness to follow the law in deliberating Clancy's fate.

The jury must decide whether the Massachusetts mother is criminally responsible for fatally strangling her three young children.

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Earlier, CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson spoke with CNN about the judge's decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The judge has to be very careful about really interfering with the jury, about taking over the province of the

jury. The jury and the jury alone gets to make a decision as to what the specific facts are, based upon who's credible, who's not, what they view

the evidence as suggesting.

You don't appreciate the actions, or you do. That's their role. The judge's role was to merely instruct you on the law. And judges are very, very

reluctant to emphasize specific words, right? Reasonable doubt, you give the instruction, but you don't want to weigh in, such as you're suggesting

that one thing is more important. So, I think what this judge is doing is the judge is in protecting the integrity of the process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right, turning now to Ukraine, a drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine Security Service, one of the most important government buildings in

the country. Ukraine's President said that five people were injured, and images like this illustrate the severity of Moscow's attacks this week.

A drone struck a Coca-Cola warehouse just outside the city as the Kremlin ramps up round-the-clock pressure on Ukraine's capital region. Meantime, a

U.S. official tells CNN that President Trump's Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to be in Moscow and in Kyiv in the coming days.

The key visit marks the first trip by both men since the country since the war began. They have been to Moscow before. Let's be in CNN's Clare

Sebastian for more on these developments. I mean, this has been a very difficult few weeks, if not few months, for Kyiv because you have Moscow

really ramping up drone attacks, missile attacks.

And also, the fact that it is very aware of Kyiv's vulnerabilities at a time like this, given that they are in desperate need of interceptor

missiles. And the defense capabilities are essentially dwindling. Just walk us through what Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff actually hope to achieve in

the coming days.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, look, I think clearly, we're in a period of intense escalation. Certainly, you see that with the amount of

bombardment of Kyiv over the past nine days or so, and especially with this very significant hit on the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service, the

SBU, which President Zelenskyy said was aimed directly at the office of the head of that security service, Oleksandr Poklad.

He is said to be unharmed, according to the SBU, but they are now promising a quote painful response for Russia. This is an imposing, iconic building

right in the center of Kyiv. It was hit in broad daylight. There are injuries, as you said.

And I think you know this really lays bare not only the lack of scruples that Russia has when it comes to targeting, but clearly the interceptor

crisis that Ukraine is facing not only when it comes to fending off ballistic missiles, but this was a drone strike, and they have really sort

of stepped up their efforts in recent years when it comes to fending off Russian drones.

It is getting more difficult. We are in a period of intense escalation, and it is against that backdrop that we will see these meetings, according to a

U.S. official, confirming what we heard from President Zelenskyy that this is set to take place in the coming days. Significant that they are set to

come to Kyiv.

This will be the first visit by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Kyiv. Steve Witkoff has been to Moscow at least seven times since the Trump

Administration took office, but never to Kyiv. So, a really significant moment for Ukraine as to what they will achieve against the backdrop of

this escalation.

Well, I think there are major questions there. But certainly, for Ukraine, this kind of momentum in peace talks after months of seeing the whole

process essentially frozen because of the Iran war, that will be very significant. But again, clearly there's an escalation going on. It could

still get worse, and it's happening in this air war on both sides.

ASHER: All right, Clare Sebastian, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, still to come, this is Southern Lebanon. CNN embeds with the

Lebanese Army for a rare glimpse into the Israeli occupied area just ahead.

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ASHER: All right, we're going to take you now to CNN U.S. for more coverage on the Lindsay Clancy trial. The judge is back on the bench. Let's take a

look.

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