Rescue crews and foreign specialists are racing to reach hundreds of workers feared trapped in flooded hydropower tunnels in Nepal, after last week’s flash floods sent thick mud and debris into project sites along the Trishuli River.
The Scale of the Problem
At least 933 workers are missing across various hydropower projects along the river, according to Nepali officials, with tunnel entrances buried, roads and bridges swept away, and in some cases authorities uncertain of workers’ exact locations underground.
Criticism Over Lost Time
A group representing Nepal’s private-sector power producers has criticized the government for hesitating to accept help from other countries in the early days of the disaster, arguing the delay cost crucial time in a rescue effort where speed matters most. Officials associated with the projects say access remains the biggest obstacle, and have said the government has not treated the rescue effort with sufficient urgency.
What Families Are Facing
Relatives of the missing workers say every additional hour of delay diminishes hope of finding survivors. The floods have already killed more than 900 people across Nepal and Tibet, making this one of the deadliest natural disasters in the region in recent memory.
Update: Two Trapped Workers Rescued Alive, About 40 More Believed Inside
Rescuers pulled two men out alive on Friday, September 4, nine days after they became trapped by mud and debris inside a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower construction site, according to the Washington Post and CBS News. Sanjay Sah, 30, a mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor, were flown to a hospital in Kathmandu and are in stable condition.
Rescue teams first heard voices calling from inside the flooded tunnel Friday morning, and worked for hours to clear a path to the two men. CNN reported that one of the survivors told rescuers more people are still alive deeper inside the tunnel system. Nepal’s army now believes roughly 40 more workers remain trapped at the same hydropower project, and search efforts are continuing.
Related from BeezLoop: 29 Arrested After Flood-Swept Bank Safe Looted in Nepal, Ferry Carrying 267 People Capsizes Off Northern Cyprus, Death Toll Rises to 12 as Captain… and Nepal Flood Toll Soars Past 683 Dead, Nearly 3,000 Missing.
