Rescue teams make progress searching tunnels after Nepal floods

Six days after floods struck Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, rescue teams were still working to enter tunnels at several hydropower projects. The floods buried the structures along riverbanks, and many people are suspected to have been inside when the disaster hit on August 26.

At the Trishuli 3A tunnel, the Nepal Army carried out a controlled blast at 2 a.m. Two excavators dug about 10 metres down to create an opening. Workers were clearing water, mud and sediment from inside the tunnel.

Search operations also continued at Trishuli 3B, where security personnel worked with technical experts. A joint team that included foreign personnel entered about 100 metres into the Chilime Hydropower Project tunnel and recovered two bodies buried under mud and soil.

At the Upper Trishuli-1 project, rescuers advanced about 300 metres into the tunnel and recovered one body, according to the Nepal Army. Search operations also began at the Langtang tunnel, where personnel used torchlights to look through the structure.