Race to free hundreds feared trapped in Nepal’s hydropower tunnels as flood deaths surpass 950

Kathmandu: Rescuers are racing to free hundreds of workers believed to be trapped in tunnels at hydropower sites that were buried in mud by catastrophic flooding on the Nepal-China border, as the death toll climbs and increasingly desperate families search for missing loved ones.

The combined deaths in Nepal and China have now surpassed 950, with more than 4400 people missing. A private-sector association representing power companies said at least 900 workers were unaccounted for at 12 hydropower projects destroyed or damaged by the flash floods in Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts last Wednesday.

About 500 of those workers were believed to be trapped in tunnels. At least one expert said some workers could have access to oxygen, but others warned that the chances of finding survivors were diminishing.

As the rescue efforts intensified, four bodies were recovered from three mud-filled tunnels, Nepal’s army said.

Some workers managed to call for help when the disaster struck, and others who managed to flee reported to authorities and relatives that many of their colleagues were still in the tunnels, said Mohan Kumar Dangi, president of the Independent Power Producers’ Association.

At least 576 people were missing at the $900 million Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in hard-hit Rasuwa district, Dangi said, adding that about 300 were believed to be trapped inside a tunnel.

It was unclear whether rescuers have had any contact with the trapped workers since the initial calls for help. Six days after the disaster, fears are growing that some might have suffocated, Dangi said.

One Trishuli-1 tunnel worker on Monday told this masthead how he was swept about four kilometres through an access shaft until he was spat out alive into a newly formed body of water swirling with debris and equipment.

Dhan Bahadur Tamang explained how he had managed to find his way to another tunnel as the waters receded, but had witnessed “many dead bodies” inside the complex.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Balen Shah said 250 people were rescued over the weekend from around Upper Trishuli-1, where Chinese and South Korean teams are continuing operations.

Rescue workers, part of a 90-member team, reached the main section of a tunnel by Sunday, he added.

The Nepalese Army, with assistance from Chinese experts, is also carrying out rescue efforts at the nearby Upper Trishuli 3B project site, where 122 people are unaccounted for, Shah added.

Crews were working to descend about 15 metres into a tunnel in an effort to reach those believed trapped inside, according to Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet, Nepal’s army spokesman.

Workers shovelling mud from a flood-ravaged power station in Dhading, Nepal, told the Associated Press that the station was a key connection for providing power to over 20,000 people in the region.

The region’s hydropower projects all feature gigantic tunnels built to control the flow of water, which is used to generate electricity.

“These tunnels are big enough to drive trucks through,” said Jakob Steiner, a geoscientist at the University of Graz in Austria, based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

“And from what we understand, they have managed to get oxygen to some of those stuck inside and are trying to rescue them now. It’s a race for time, though, as people need food and water.”

At the Trishuli-3B site, crews were working to descend about 15 metres into a tunnel in an effort to reach those believed trapped inside, according to Nepalese Army spokesman Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet.

Workers shovelling mud from the flood-ravaged plant in Dhading told the Associated Press that it was a key connection for providing power to over 20,000 people in the region.

On the Chinese side, rescue and recovery efforts included rebuilding the road leading to the Gyirong Port border crossing, which serves as the crossing point between China and Nepal.

Trucks carried giant rocks as workers tried to repave a portion of the road, state broadcaster CCTV showed on Monday, next to rapidly rushing waters intensified by days of rain.

The road is now under 2 to 3 metres of water. The repaving effort was just a little over a kilometre from the border, CCTV said.

Although some rescue teams have managed to reach the border, that represents only a portion of the force.

Chinese state media coverage has focused largely on the official response, highlighting the deployment of firefighters, the People’s Liberation Army and instructions from top leaders. Little is known about victims on the Chinese side.

Nepal’s disaster agency said on Monday that 939 deaths had been counted in that country, with 3925 people missing, including 592 foreigners.

The number of missing Australians has risen to 43. On Monday, the first confirmed Australian victim was identified as NSW South Coast man Michael Keats . He was returning from a journey to Mount Kailash, a sacred site in south-western Tibet, and had reached the border crossing into Nepal when the floods struck.

As of Sunday, Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 missing. Chinese state media said 261 of the missing were foreigners, including over 100 Nepalis.

Eighty Americans are missing, and 13 have been rescued, the US State Department said.

Two days after the disaster, Marav travelled to Nepal to search for his son, who was among the missing. He visited rescue centres and morgues and went as far as 40 kilometres from where his son was believed to have been, but found no sign of him.

His son, Sathya Narayan, had been leading a group of 49 Indian travellers who were returning from Mount Kailash. The group has been missing since floodwaters swept through a Chinese border checkpoint where they were waiting to cross into Nepal.

Nagappan, who owns the travel company based in Chennai, organised the pilgrimage and said the group was expected to complete immigration formalities and leave for Nepal within about two hours. Instead of making the crossing, they were caught in the flood, Nagappan said.

The pilgrimage began on August 14. “I haven’t heard from my son since then. I don’t know whether he is alive or dead,” he told AP.

Surveillance footage showed water surging through the immigration complex at the border as people scrambled to escape. Nagappan said some of those seen fleeing were members of his son’s group and were identified by the clothes they were wearing.

Wednesday’s flash floods started after a glacial collapse high in the Himalayan region. Scientists who studied satellite images said bedrock underneath a glacier high in the Himalayan region had collapsed, taking part of the glacier with it. The rockfall was so extreme that it registered as a magnitude 5.2 seismic event.

The rocks and melted water then swelled the rivers in the valleys below, causing a torrent that swept buildings, bridges, and earth downstream in Tibet and Nepal.

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