Rescue teams are working to reach more than 900 missing hydropower workers, many of whom are feared trapped in the tunnels and underground areas of 11 hydropower projects in Nepal after the devastating flash floods, according to the country’s disaster management authority.
The death toll from the unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud, and debris last Wednesday has risen to 903, with 16 more deaths reported in Tibet. Nearly 5,000 people are missing on both sides of the border.
Devastated by floods and overwhelmed by bodies, Nepalis weep for what remains of their homes. Read more.
Rescue efforts are being complicated by difficult terrain, persistently high floodwaters, and harsh weather. With more than 40 bridges destroyed, rescuers are relying on helicopters, while India and China are sending prefabricated truss bridges to help restore access.
The swollen Trishula River has also continued to change course unpredictably, making planning a challenge. Areas that were dry one day are flooded the next, and further floods remain a constant concern.
Hundreds of bodies, many unidentified, that were swept down the mountains by the torrent have been buried in shallow graves after DNA testing on the plains of the Himalayan region.
Nepali officials said on Monday that the focus was on reaching the 933 people missing from hydropower plants. “A large amount of debris has been deposited, and that is posing a big challenge for us to open the tunnels,” Nepal army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet told Reuters.
About 250 people were rescued from the Upper Trishuli hydroelectric project over the weekend, and army engineers began blasting operations at the site to rescue another 42 workers thought to be missing.
View image in fullscreen: Rescuers transport a survivor of the floods in the bucket of a digger. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters.
The damage to hydropower infrastructure is estimated to have taken 700 megawatts out of service, about 10% of the country’s power capacity. Pictures and videos shared by rescue teams showed earth-moving equipment shovelling mud to try to reach the tunnels.
Ashish Gurung, who normally works as a guide, was among the rescuers. “There is just mud everywhere,” he said. “Inside the tunnel it was worse. It’s so difficult to move, the mud is so deep.”
His team was trying to access the Chilime hydropower plant in Rasuwa, one of the worst-hit areas. At least eight people are believed missing there, and an Indian team is working alongside the Nepali army using pumps and excavators to locate them.
View image in fullscreen: Ashish Gurung, left, with fellow rescue mountaineer Jenjen Lama at the Chilime hydropower plant in Rasuwa. Photograph: Supplied.
The Nepali prime minister, Balendra Shah, said rescue efforts were “challenging due to adverse weather, difficult terrain, and ongoing risks.”
Gurung said mountaineers were improvising by using planks of wood to check the depth of the mud, before using them as makeshift bridges along with a system of ropes to keep themselves safe.
“Walking in it is very difficult, at one point it was up to our chests,” he said. “We got close to the first station, about 130 metres in. Inside that far … it looked like it was just bodies.”
The hydropower company had given his team a map, and it looked as if there was a chance people in the tunnels could have survived. “They have a safe area inside,” he said. “Some of them could potentially be alive. I am hoping they are alive.”
Young girl rescued from rubble three days after Nepal flash flood – video.
The Red Cross estimates that more than 93,000 people have been affected by the disaster, which China and some experts have linked to the climate crisis.
Shah said the flood was an “unprecedented and devastating natural disaster” and that it was difficult to compile a complete assessment of the damage.
“Despite the adverse weather, difficult terrain, and continuing risks, we are moving forward with determination to save the lives of our citizens,” he said in a Facebook post late on Sunday. Almost 21,000 security personnel have been deployed for rescue and relief operations.Security personnel took part in the rescue efforts alongside civilian workers and volunteers, he said. Entire communities had been wiped out by the flooding, leaving families without shelter in the heavy rain.
View image in fullscreen
Rescuers work to reach a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant in Nuwakot district, Nepal. Photograph: Nepal Army/Reuters
“There are no roads left—they’ve all been washed away, and many areas are simply unreachable,” said a police officer coordinating rescue efforts in Nuwakot district. “It’s very tough for my men. The area is still flooded, and elsewhere it’s all marshland.”
Nepal’s disaster agency said on Monday it had recorded 903 deaths, with 4,793 people—including 592 foreigners—still missing. Chinese authorities had reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing as of Sunday. State media said 261 of the missing were foreigners, including more than 100 Nepalis.
China’s state-run CCTV said Beijing had deployed over 2,100 rescue workers and set aside at least 220 million yuan (£24 million) to support relief efforts. It had been airdropping equipment and supplies to frontline rescuers, while soldiers used life-detection gear to search for the missing.
Nepal has said it doesn’t need foreign help for general search and rescue operations, but it has relied on its neighbours, India and China, for their expertise in tunnel rescues.
Rescue operations have been suspended several times since Friday due to bad weather and concerns that a lake formed along the Nepal-China border by the disaster could trigger fresh flooding after it began overflowing into Nepal’s rivers.
The weather was good on Monday, though, and rescue work picked up pace, said Narendra Pariyar, the district administrator of Rasuwa, one of the two hardest-hit districts.
In the holy town of Devighat on the banks of the Trishuli, residents wandered among the remains of what had once been homes, trying to salvage their belongings from the debris.
The flood was “caused by glacier instability under the long-term effects of global warming,” CCTV reported, calling it a “new and prominent feature of cryosphere disasters” on the Tibetan plateau.
Two Nepali officials said China had not shared much information on glacier risks and water levels after a meeting earlier this year aimed at strengthening cooperation, and they worried this could hinder future disaster preparedness.
China’s foreign ministry said Beijing had consistently provided Nepal with meteorological and hydrological data and would continue to “strongly support” Nepal’s disaster relief efforts and protect the common interests of both countries.
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of frequently asked questions about the rescue operation in Nepal written in a natural and clear tone
General Questions
Q What exactly happened in Nepal
A Heavy rainfall and flooding triggered landslides that blocked the entrances to a hydropower projects tunnels Workers were inside when the tunnels flooded trapping them
Q Where is this hydropower project located
A The project is in the district of Solukhumbu which is in eastern Nepal near the Everest region
Q How many people are trapped
A The exact number is uncertain but officials believe around 40 to 50 workers are trapped inside the tunnels
Q Is this a common problem in Nepal
A Yes Nepals mountainous terrain and monsoon season make it prone to landslides and flash floods which pose a constant risk to infrastructure projects like hydropower plants
Technical Rescue Operation Questions
Q Why is it so difficult to rescue the trapped people
A The main challenges are the massive amounts of mud debris and water blocking the tunnel entrances The tunnels are narrow making it hard for heavy machinery to operate and the risk of more landslides is very high
Q How are the rescuers trying to reach the trapped workers
A They are using a combination of methods Heavy excavators are clearing the debris from the entrances while rescue teams are also trying to find or create alternative access points like ventilation shafts to reach the people inside
Q Are the trapped workers alive
A Rescuers are hopeful but they have not yet made contact They believe the workers may have moved to higher ground inside the tunnel where there might be air pockets but time is running out
Q What is the main risk for the people trapped inside
A The biggest immediate risks are drowning suffocation and hypothermia As time passes dehydration and lack of oxygen become critical concerns
Q Why is the water not being pumped out faster
A The tunnels are filling with a thick mixture of mud and water that clogs standard pumps The continuous rainfall is also adding more water making it a race against time
Practical Safety Questions
