Play store
Hundreds of workers remain missing or trapped at hydropower projects in Nepal after devastating flash floods swept through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river corridors near the Nepal-Tibet border.
According to Nepal’s Independent Power Producers’ Association, 537 workers associated with nine hydropower projects remained unaccounted for as of Saturday, after 361 of 898 workers were rescued.
Other reports had earlier put the number of trapped or missing workers across 11 sites at 934, with many subsequently rescued or accounted for.
Rescue efforts are particularly focused on the Upper Trishuli-I project, where around 300 workers were still believed to be trapped inside a tunnel.
Rescuers have also been searching for missing workers at Rasuwagadhi, Upper Trishuli-III A and other projects.
The Nepal Army has already rescued workers from several hydropower tunnels. On Friday and Saturday, it brought 191 workers out of tunnels at different project sites, while continuing searches in areas affected by mud, debris and damaged access routes.
An 11-member Indian team of medical personnel and tunnel-rescue specialists has also reached Nepal to provide technical assistance in locating and rescuing workers believed to be trapped underground.
The floods have severely damaged hydropower facilities, roads and bridges, making access to several sites extremely difficult.
Rescuers are continuing operations, but determining how many people remain trapped beneath mud and debris remains a major challenge.
Families of missing workers continue to wait for information as rescue teams work against difficult conditions to reach isolated project sites.