Rescue operations are continuing at Nepal’s Chilime hydropower project, where six workers are believed to be trapped inside a tunnel, with Indian and Nepali teams using heavy machinery to clear mud and debris and advance towards an underground powerhouse.
The operation gathered pace after an excavator, loader, and Bobcat were brought into the tunnel, India’s Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava said in an update on Saturday (September 12, 2026). The technical team cleared about 70 metres further, he said. The powerhouse is about 60 metres further down the tunnel, according to the project manager. The Army has also prioritised rescue operations at the Upper Trishuli-3B hydropower project, where more than 100 Army personnel have been deployed, the report said.
The rescue teams were to continue working through the night to reach it, Mr.
Srivastava said. The Border Roads Organisation has also prepared the approach road to the rescue site, according to authorities. Separately, Nepal’s Army said it had constructed more than a kilometre of access road from Syafrubesi towards the Chilime tunnel, enabling rescue equipment to be taken closer to the site. The Nepal Army and Indian rescue personnel are jointly working inside the Chilime tunnel, according to a report published in the Khabarhub news portal.
