More Than 500 Feared Trapped in Nepal Hydropower Tunnels

Rescuers in Nepal are pumping air into hydropower tunnels where more than 500 workers, employees, residents and others are believed to be trapped after flash floods filled construction sites with mud and debris.

Authorities and local media said the whereabouts of more than 900 workers from a hydropower project in the flood-hit Trishuli River area remained unknown. Many are believed to be inside tunnels used to transport water or access other underground passages.

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begun sending air in through a small hole

Nepali armed forces began searching 19 tunnels, including those at the Upper Trishuli 1 project, where nine South Korean workers went missing. People have been rescued from some construction areas, but dozens remained out of contact at the nearby Upper Trishuli 3A and 3B plants. More than 200 people were reportedly unreachable at those sites immediately after the disaster.

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may be transported to hospital after rescue, but the first thing is making sure they are alive.

At Upper Trishuli 3A, rescuers used excavating equipment to make a small hole in the tunnel ceiling. They began sending in air and introducing cameras and oxygen equipment. Home Affairs Minister Sudan Gurung said rescuers had “begun sending air in through a small hole” and planned to enlarge it so they could enter. No contact had yet been made with anyone inside.

Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha told families that victims “may be transported to hospital after rescue, but the first thing is making sure they are alive.” The government appealed to neighboring countries for specialized tunnel rescue workers. Radio Nepal said teams from India and China had joined operations at facilities in Rasuwa and Nuwakot.

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We are doing everything we can to supply oxygen in the tunnels, and we are also attempting to supply it through pipes.