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Rescue operations continued in Nepal’s hydropower project tunnels on Wednesday, but rescuers were unable to move beyond certain points inside the tunnels, dimming hopes of finding anyone alive.
A week has passed since devastating floods hit the country. The government initially said more than 100 workers could be trapped alive inside several tunnels.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), as many as 639 workers at hydropower plants are feared missing.
NDRRMA spokesperson Shanti Mahat said search and rescue operations were still underway, with foreign teams also assisting the effort.
Despite various challenges, rescuers were continuing their work as large amounts of mud, debris and sediment had accumulated inside the tunnels.
Mahat told AFP that in some cases, it had become difficult to locate tunnel entrances. Even after finding an entrance, rescuers discovered that the tunnels were blocked further inside. Nevertheless, efforts were continuing.
On Monday, rescuers recovered at least three bodies from two tunnels. They were able to enter several tunnels and proceed several hundred metres inside, but could not move farther because of the mud.
Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha told reporters on Tuesday that rescuers had access to all the tunnels, but entering them had become difficult because rocks and sediment had accumulated inside.
The Nepal Electricity Authority said operations at 11 hydropower plants and one solar power plant with a combined generation capacity of 431.1 megawatts had been halted.
The affected capacity accounts for nearly 10 percent of the country’s total electricity generation capacity.
Another 15 power projects under construction have also been damaged, with a combined potential generation capacity of 470 megawatts.
As of Wednesday, 1,130 people had been reported dead in the floods along the Nepal-China border in the two countries, while 4,462 people remained missing. With no sign of many of the missing after seven days, families have begun losing hope.
In Kathmandu on Wednesday, several families were seen holding symbolic final rites for relatives who remain missing.