Search and rescue team says ‘no more survivors in Upper Trishuli 3A tunnel’

Rescuers searching the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower tunnel in Nepal say they found no more survivors after locating two people alive and the body of another person.

A seven-member Armed Police Force search team reached every section of the tunnel, while a Nepali Army team joined the operation. Searchers crawled through the project for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, encountering mud, soil, sludge and rocks throughout the buried sections.

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Apart from the two people rescued alive, we found the body of one other person.

Ambar Mahat of the Armed Police Force said water pressure had caused slabs above the tunnel to collapse. The two survivors were found beside the powerhouse building. Sanjay Sah, one of those rescued, said he had been inside the powerhouse and could not escape while others were being evacuated. He is receiving treatment at the Army Hospital in Kathmandu.

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Every section of the project has been buried under mud and soil, while some areas are filled with rocks. We crawled our way inside for 15 to 20 minutes. In each section we searched, we found mud, soil and sludge.

Nepali Army spokesperson Netra Bahadur Karki said the teams had reached the tunnel’s farthest point and found nothing beyond the body. Aabhash Ojha, chief of the Upper Trishuli Hydropower Station, said he had asked for the search to be called off after the Army and police teams found no one else. Officials proposed returning with project staff to inspect possible locations before making a final decision.

The flood affected several hydropower projects, covering their tunnels with mud and debris. The project workforce figures listed were 42 people at Upper Trishuli 3A, 557 at Upper Trishuli 1, 191 at Upper Trishuli 3B and 93 at Rasuwagadhi.

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We have suggested going back with our staff to inspect the possible locations, and we will take a decision only after that.