Rescue teams struggle to reach workers trapped in Nepal hydropower tunnels

A week after a devastating flash flood tore through northern Nepal, rescue teams still cannot reach workers believed trapped inside underground hydropower facilities. Mud, debris and floodwater have blocked access to powerhouses and tunnels at several projects, leaving families waiting for news.

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Many people, including my husband, have been trapped inside the hydropower plant for a week. We still have no idea what condition they are in.

Narayani Joshi has spent the week waiting for word about her husband and roughly 40 other people believed to be inside the underground powerhouse at the 60-megawatt Upper Trishuli-3A Hydropower Project. “Many people, including my husband, have been trapped inside the hydropower plant for a week. We still have no idea what condition they are in,” she said. “We have been told the powerhouse is intact, so we are clinging to the hope that they are still alive. How can the government be so slow to respond to something this serious? Why aren’t better equipment and pumps being used to get the water out?”

Data released by the Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal, showed that 947 people from hydropower projects remained unaccounted for. The association said it was not yet clear how many were trapped underground and how many had been swept away by the floods. At the 216-megawatt Upper Trishuli-1 project alone, more than 557 people were reported missing, although 254 people were safely rescued from the surrounding area.

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We have been told the powerhouse is intact, so we are clinging to the hope that they are still alive. How can the government be so slow to respond to something this serious? Why aren’t better equipment and pumps being used to get the water out?

Home Minister Sudan Gurung said the government was using all available resources and had not abandoned the possibility that survivors remained inside. “We have not lost hope yet. There is still a chance they could be alive, perhaps surviving on the water inside the powerhouse,” he said. “Our security teams are still working at the site. We are also looking at whether we can drill down from above and find a way to reach them.”

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We have not lost hope yet. There is still a chance they could be alive, perhaps surviving on the water inside the powerhouse.

The government has begun involving technical teams from hydropower projects, but relatives say tunnel searches must be intensified. Families went to the PowerChina office in Lalitpur to demand faster action and later discussed the dispute with company representatives at a police station. Nepali Army and Nepal Police teams have been deployed around the tunnel area, while a joint search team involving the army, Chinese specialists and Sherpas continues the effort.

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Our security teams are still working at the site. We are also looking at whether we can drill down from above and find a way to reach them.