Search intensifies for workers trapped in Nepal hydropower tunnels

Rescue teams are pushing deeper into hydropower tunnels in Nepal after devastating floods left workers missing or trapped along the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli corridor.

At the Upper Trishuli-3A project, the Nepali Army said teams had located the tunnel head. They were pumping in air and draining water to make entry possible, while excavators and rock breakers cleared routes to the site.

Specialist teams were also working to enter the tunnel at Upper Trishuli-3B. At Chilime Hydropower, a joint team that included foreign rescuers had moved about 50 metres inside. Search teams had reached roughly 150 metres into the Langtang Hydropower tunnel and 200 metres into the Upper Trishuli-1 tunnel.

The army said 279 people were rescued alive from various hydropower projects immediately after the floods. That total included 221 people from Upper Trishuli-3A and 33 from Upper Trishuli-1. The search for those still missing continues as crews work to open routes through flooded and obstructed tunnels.