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🇬🇷 Greece /Disasters & Emergencies

Hope Returns to Nepal as Two Workers Are Rescued Alive Nine Days After Deadly Floods

From Ta Nea · () Greek

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

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Nepalese rescuers freed two workers alive from the Trishul 3A hydropower tunnel nine days after the floods.
  • Authorities said about 900 workers were missing from 12 hydropower projects, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels.
  • Flood damage to property, homes and infrastructure was estimated at at least $2.56 billion, while immediate four-month recovery needs were put at about $52.6 million.

Two workers have been pulled alive from a tunnel in Nepal nine days after deadly floods struck the country, bringing a brief surge of hope to a rescue operation that is still far from over. The workers were freed at the Trishul 3A hydropower project, according to Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet, a spokesman for Nepal’s army.

Rescue teams continued working inside the tunnel to locate and free other workers believed to be trapped in the area. Local authorities said about 900 workers were missing from 12 hydropower projects across Nepal. Around 500 of them were thought to be trapped inside tunnels, making access especially difficult for the rescue crews.

It seems that we now have proof that this particular methodology can be used for a rescue operation, because this is something being done for the first time anywhere in the world.

· Arnold DixThe tunnel-engineering professor described the rescue method being used to reach workers buried by the floods.

Arnold Dix, a disaster-management specialist and tunnel-engineering professor advising the rescue teams, described the operation as dangerous and unprecedented. The teams are attempting to identify tunnel entrances buried by the floods. Dix said the method being used had never before been tried for a rescue operation, but the rescue of the two workers offered an initial indication that it could work.

We have never done anything like this before, and now we have an initial confirmation that it can work. There are other power stations that we still have not managed to reach.

· Arnold DixDix said the rescue of two workers indicated that the method might help teams reach other hydropower sites.

“Of course, we stop for a moment and celebrate. But now this also means that we have to take a step back and move forward,” Dix told CNN. He said the hydropower tunnels were “full of water” after the floods, forcing rescuers to make extremely dangerous decisions, including whether to blast through rocks the size of cars.

The disaster has also left Nepal facing enormous reconstruction costs. Damage to property, homes and infrastructure was estimated at at least $2.56 billion. Immediate repairs over the first four months were expected to cost about $52.6 million, including work to restore roads, provide temporary shelter, and supply drinking water and electricity to affected areas.

Of course, we stop for a moment and celebrate. But now this also means that we have to take a step back and move forward.

· Arnold DixHe described the rescue as a moment of celebration while stressing that the wider operation continued.
About this summary

Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. 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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