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🇻🇳 Vietnam /Disasters & Emergencies

Chinese Expert Describes Rare Tunnel-Rescue Conditions After Nepal Floods

From Tuổi Trẻ · () Vietnamese

Translated from Vietnamese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Flash floods near the Nepal-Tibet border have killed at least 1,225 people and left 4,757 missing in Nepal and Tibet, according to figures cited from AFP and Chinese media.
  • Rescuers from Nepal, India and China are searching hydropower-project tunnels, where large volumes of mud and complex underground terrain have made operations exceptionally difficult.
  • Chinese expert Pan Jiangyuan said rescuers used a raft and drones because mud in some areas was too deep to cross on foot.

In some of Nepal’s flooded hydropower tunnels, rescuers cannot walk into the passages because mud reaches too deep. They have instead moved slowly on a raft and used drones to survey the wreckage, according to Chinese tunnel-rescue expert Pan Jiangyuan.

The flash floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border region on August 26 after a glacier collapse from above. By 9 p.m. on September 2, at least 1,204 people had died and 4,216 remained missing in Nepal, based on figures cited by AFP from Nepal. Chinese media reported 21 deaths and 541 missing in Tibet, bringing the combined toll to 1,225 dead and 4,757 missing.

The floods buried tunnels, destroyed roads and severed transport links. Nepal has rescued 279 people from hydropower projects submerged by the disaster, but at least 639 others remain missing. Some are believed to be trapped inside tunnels, where rescue teams from Nepal, India and China continue to dig and search for survivors.

The situation in the landslide area has far exceeded predictions, more serious than any disaster I have ever witnessed.

· Pan JiangyuanThe Chinese tunnel-rescue expert described the scale and severity of the disaster zone.

Pan, who has more than 15 years of tunnel-rescue experience, said the conditions had exceeded expectations. "The situation in the landslide area has far exceeded predictions, more serious than any disaster I have ever witnessed," he told Xinhua. He added: "The tunnel was almost completely filled with mud and debris. This is an unprecedented and extremely rare situation in tunnel rescue operations."

Pan is one of nine Chinese tunnel-rescue experts sent to Nepal by the Chinese government, alongside four DNA-identification specialists. He has worked for several consecutive days with Nepalese military rescuers on reconnaissance and search missions. Nepalese officials said the Chinese team was among the first international rescue groups to arrive. China has also sent two rounds of aid, shared real-time meteorological and hydrological data, and provided technical advice.

The tunnel was almost completely filled with mud and debris. This is an unprecedented and extremely rare situation in tunnel rescue operations.

· Pan JiangyuanPan explained why the flooded hydropower tunnels posed unusual challenges for rescuers.
About this summary

Originally published by Tuổi Trẻ in Vietnamese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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