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🇦🇺 Australia /Disasters & Emergencies

Search continues for hundreds trapped in Nepal hydropower tunnels after floods

From ABC Australia · () English

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

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Nepalese rescuers are searching hydropower tunnels for workers feared trapped after floods killed at least 1,380 people and left more than 5,500 missing in Nepal and Tibet.
  • Army rescuers estimate that about 121 of the 900 people missing from hydropower projects could be inside the tunnels, where air pockets and enclosed rooms may offer a chance of survival.
  • Four recent rescues, including three hydropower workers and a woman found in a buried house, have raised hopes as Nepal observes the 13th day of mourning.

Four rescues from the wreckage of Nepal's floods have offered a glimmer of hope as teams search for more than 100 hydropower workers who may still be trapped in tunnels.

Army rescuers said about 121 of the 900 people missing from hydropower projects could be inside the tunnel networks. Others may have been working elsewhere at the plants. At the Chilime hydropower project in hard-hit Rasuwa district, rescuers were still searching for four of six missing people who could be alive, lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane said.

Authorities have obtained specialised equipment and identified techniques for the Chilime operation. Rescuers believe survivors may remain in the tunnels because some contain air pockets, spaces and rooms where people can stay. A Chinese national was pulled from a tunnel on Saturday, while two hydropower workers came out of another tunnel on Friday. A Nepali woman was also rescued from a buried house on Saturday.

The team, including members of Fire and Rescue New South Wales and the Queensland Fire Department, will depart in the coming days as part of a 15-person Disaster Assistance Response Team.

· Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and TradeThe statement described Australia's planned contribution to Nepal's search and rescue effort.

The searches continued as Nepal marked the 13th day after the disaster, traditionally the final day of mourning in Hindu rites. Government offices and diplomatic missions were to fly the national flag at half-mast, while families commemorate the day with rituals and food offerings.

The floods followed the collapse of part of a glacier on August 26. Mud and rock crashed into a river along the Nepal-Tibet border, washing away towns and villages and burying roads and highways. At least 1,380 people have died, and more than 5,500 remain missing in Nepal and Tibet, including 35 Australians. Australia said it would send a 15-person disaster assistance team, including specialist drone operators, to help map and image search areas.

They will use advanced drone technology to provide rapid mapping and imaging to support Nepali authorities' search operations.

· Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and TradeThe department explained how the Australian team would assist the rescue operation.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. 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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