537 workers remain missing as Nepal races to reach flood-hit hydropower tunnels

Kathmandu: As many as 537 workers and employees remained unaccounted for at nine hydropower projects in Nepal's flood-hit Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, with rescue teams intensifying efforts to reach people believed trapped inside tunnels blocked by mud and debris.

Rescue operations have been hampered by mud and debris blocking tunnel entrances, damaged infrastructure, difficult terrain and adverse weather, prompting Nepal to seek specialised assistance from India, China and other countries.

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According to the Independent Power Producers' Association in Nepal (IPPAN), 898 workers and employees at nine hydropower projects in the two districts were initially reported out of contact following the August 26 floods.

Of them, 361 have been rescued, leaving 537 still unaccounted for, according to local media reports that cited IPPAN.

The most serious situation is at the 216 MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Rasuwa, with 300 people still believed to be trapped inside the project's tunnel, the media reports said.

At the 60 MW Upper Trishuli-3A Hydropower Project in Nuwakot, rescue efforts have made some progress after the tunnel entrance was buried by mud and debris.

The Nepali Army dismantled excavators and bulldozers and airlifted them by helicopter to Battar, Nuwakot, to facilitate access to the flood-hit project site, the Nepal News web portal reported.

Army officials said joint rescue teams were working around the clock and that operations were nearing a critical breakthrough at the tunnel entry point.

A separate report said rescuers had identified the crown, or upper section, of the buried tunnel and begun sending a camera and oxygen through a drilled opening to assess conditions inside.

At the 22 MW Chilime Hydropower Project, IPPAN said eight people remained out of contact, while project officials said six employees were believed to be trapped inside a tunnel.

Project CEO Baburaja Maharjan told OnlineKhabar news portal that a mountaineering rescue team flown to the site by Simrik Air on Saturday entered the tunnel but could proceed only about 100 metres before finding it completely blocked by mud.

The team said a specialised operation with appropriate equipment would be required to clear the blockage and reach those trapped, Maharjan told the news portal.

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International assistance has meanwhile been deployed to support Nepal's tunnel rescue efforts.

An 11-member Indian technical team comprising doctors, paramedics and tunnel engineers carried out on-site reconnaissance of hydropower tunnels in the flood-affected area on Saturday, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said.

The team had arrived in Kathmandu on Friday and reached Trishuli in Nuwakot district on Saturday.

It also conducted an aerial survey of the Chilime and Langtang areas before assessing the sites for rescue operations, according to Nepalese authorities and the Indian Embassy.

The Kathmandu Post reported that the Indian team was flown to Chilime and Langtang in coordination with the Nepali Army and Armed Police Force.

It said Nepal had also allowed Chinese and South Korean teams to assist with specialised rescue efforts.

A six-member Chinese tunnel expert team has also arrived in Nepal to assist in rescue efforts, he said.

China Railway is undertaking civil construction work at the project and the experts arrived in coordination with the company.

The Chinese team, however, has separately been deployed to assist with rescue efforts at the Upper Trishuli-3B Hydropower Project.

The Himalayan Times reported that the Chinese experts arrived in the Trishuli area by helicopter and were coordinating with a Nepali Army technical team to assess the tunnel and determine the feasibility of rescue operations.