The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal has risen to 1,003, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA). As rescue teams continue searching for missing workers, families are recounting the horror of the August 26 disaster and urging authorities to speed up operations.
An Indian tunnel rescue team has joined forces with the Nepali Army to conduct joint search and rescue operations at critical hydropower tunnel sites in Chilime, Rasuwa district, news agency ANI reported. “Whom are we supposed to believe? “Now our only hope is inside the tunnel. Families of missing workers are pressing authorities to accelerate rescue efforts as teams struggle to remove mud and debris blocking tunnels. Relatives gathered at an Army rescue and relief centre in Bidur and urged authorities to intensify the search. Brig. Gen. Army footage showed rescuers entering dark tunnels filled with debris, moving through mud and climbing over rocks while looking for missing workers. The search has been complicated by damage to transport routes and the remote locations of many hydropower projects. Steep terrain and narrow roads already make access difficult, while the floods have damaged roads and restricted routes to some sites.
If the tunnel is searched, we would know for certain,” Anush told the newspaper. Raja Ram Basnet, a Nepal Army spokesperson, told news agency Associated Press (AP) that teams, assisted by foreign experts, were carrying out searches at several hydropower projects. The family has received conflicting accounts from Laxman’s surviving colleagues about whether he was inside a tunnel when the floods hit, The Kathmandu Post reported on Tuesday. After several days of pressure, an excavator was brought to the site on Monday.
