Race Against Time: Nepal Rescuers Fight Debris to Reach Hundreds Trapped in Hydropower Tunnels After Deadly Flood

Rescue teams in Nepal have intensified their operations to reach hundreds of workers believed to be trapped inside blocked hydropower tunnels following a deadly flood last week. Nepali officials stated on Monday that the top priority is reaching the 933 workers believed to be trapped across 11 hydropower projects, which includes many individuals who were working in tunnels located in the heavily impacted districts of Rasuwa and Nuwakot.

Photographs and video footage shared by rescue teams captured earth-moving equipment clearing away heavy mud and rocks in the darkness to access the trapped individuals. “A large amount of debris has been deposited, and that is posing us a big challenge to open the tunnels,” stated Nepalese army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet to Reuters. “Our main focus is on opening the tunnels.”

The massive deluge consisting of ice, rock, mud, and debris struck the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of at least 903 people, according to the latest figures from Nepali authorities. Nearly 5,000 individuals remain missing in the aftermath of the disaster, which officials attribute to a glacier collapse, and this total includes the 933 workers at the hydropower projects. The foreign ministry of Nepal reported that at least 590 of the missing individuals are foreign nationals originating from 39 countries.

Prime Minister Ballendra Shah characterized the flood as an “unprecedented and devastating natural disaster,” noting that compiling a comprehensive assessment of the damage continues to present a significant challenge. Across the border on the Chinese side, authorities reported 16 fatalities in Gyirong County, with 546 people still unaccounted for.

In recent years, Nepal has experienced a surge in hydropower development as the mountainous nation seeks to utilize its Himalayan water resources to combat chronic domestic power shortages and export electricity to neighbouring India. Mountainous hydropower projects in Nepal depend on tunnels to transport water through steep terrain, and these same tunnels are now the focal point of the ongoing rescue mission. Nepal has indicated that external assistance is not needed for general search and rescue operations, though it has sought the expertise of India and China specifically for tunnel rescue operations.

Rescue efforts have faced multiple suspensions due to adverse weather conditions and fears that a barrier lake formed across the Nepal-China border by the disaster might trigger secondary flooding after water began overflowing into the rivers of Nepal.