Nepal Rescuers Race To Reach 933 Feared Trapped In Flood-Blocked Hydropower Tunnels
Kathmandu: Nepalese rescue teams, supported by specialists from China and India, worked through the night to reach hundreds of people feared trapped in tunnels at hydropower projects after last week’s catastrophic floods devastated towns and villages in the Himalayan nation and caused widespread destruction across the border in China, Reuters reported.
The massive surge of ice, boulders, mud and debris struck the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday in what officials have blamed on a glacier collapse. The disaster has killed nearly 800 people, while more than 3,000 remain unaccounted for.
Hundreds of bodies, many of them yet to be identified, have been placed in shallow graves after being carried down the mountains by the floodwaters. Officials said some remains had begun to decompose in the humid conditions across Nepal’s plains.
The immediate priority for rescue workers was to reach 933 people believed to be trapped inside tunnels at about half a dozen hydropower projects. The passages were sealed by huge quantities of mud, rocks and other debris.
Images and videos released by rescue teams showed heavy machinery operating under floodlights in the darkness, clearing earth and rubble as workers monitored the operation. In one location, soldiers used torches to search a large excavation for an opening into a blocked tunnel.
Nepal’s disaster management authority said 933 people linked to hydropower projects remained missing in the flood-affected region. The Red Cross estimated that more than 90,000 people may have been affected by the disaster. China has attributed the scale of the flooding to the impact of climate change.
Full Damage Assessment Remains Difficult
“A large amount of debris has been deposited and that is posing us a big challenge to open the tunnels,” Nepal army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet told Reuters. “Our main focus is on opening the tunnels.”
Prime Minister Balendra Shah described the flooding as an “unprecedented and devastating natural disaster” and said authorities were still struggling to establish the full extent of the destruction.
“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. Shah added that nearly 21,000 security personnel were taking part in rescue efforts, along with civilian workers and volunteers.
Nepalese authorities reported 788 deaths and 2,500 missing people as of Sunday night, including those feared trapped at hydropower facilities. On the Chinese side of the border, officials said 16 people had died in Gyirong County and 546 were missing.
Beijing said 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries could not be accounted for in Tibet near a major border crossing with Nepal.
China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported that more than 2,100 rescue workers had been deployed and that at least 220 million yuan ($33 million) had been earmarked for relief operations. Equipment and supplies were being flown to rescuers working in the worst-hit areas, while Chinese soldiers used life-detection devices to search for survivors.
Nepal has said it does not require foreign assistance for the wider search and rescue operation. However, authorities have accepted support from neighbouring India and China, particularly their experience in dealing with people trapped in underground tunnels.
