Kathmandu, Aug 31:
As many as 537 workers and employees remain unaccounted for at nine hydropower projects in Nepal’s flood-hit Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, with rescue teams intensifying efforts to reach people believed to be trapped inside tunnels buried under mud and debris.
According to the Independent Power Producers’ Association of Nepal, 898 workers and employees were initially reported missing following the August 26 floods. Of them, 361 have since been rescued, leaving 537 still unaccounted for.
The situation is particularly critical at the 216-MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Rasuwa, where around 300 people are believed to be trapped inside a tunnel. At the 60-MW Upper Trishuli-3A project in Nuwakot, rescuers are working to clear a tunnel entrance buried under mud and debris.
The Nepali Army has airlifted excavators and bulldozers to affected areas to speed up rescue operations. At one site, rescuers have reportedly identified the upper section of a buried tunnel and begun sending a camera and oxygen through a drilled opening to assess conditions inside. International assistance has also arrived, with an 11-member Indian technical team of doctors, paramedics and tunnel engineers conducting reconnaissance. Chinese and South Korean specialists are also assisting.
The rescue effort remains a race against time as debris, damaged infrastructure, difficult terrain and adverse weather continue to hamper operations. Authorities are working around the clock to determine whether those trapped inside the tunnels can still be reached and brought to safety.