At least 573 workers at hydropower project sites and tunnels across Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts — two of the worst-hit areas in Wednesday’s flash flood — are trapped or out of contact, days after a wall of ice, rock and water tore down the Lhende-Bhote Koshi- Trishuli river system.
“We won’t comment on the number of people trapped. The workforce at these projects often includes foreigners, including Indians. Most of the trapped are concentrated at four projects. The response is being coordinated across multiple sites. The Nepal Mountain Guide Association has sent teams to several of the tunnels, roped in by the private operators of the hydropower projects. We are yet to find them. There is a wall of debris separating rescuers from the six men who are trapped in this debris. The Nepal government is yet to formally request NDRF assistance, which is the trigger required for deployment.
Nepal government data seen by HT put the number of workers missing across at least 11 project sites at 934, late on Friday. Of these, 361 have since been rescued or made it out on their own. Officials and survivors at some of these plants, who spoke to HT, said the real figure is likely higher: five of the 11 sites are under-construction projects that may hold unregistered workers. Upper Trishuli 1 (216MW) has reported at least 322 people missing. Upper Trishuli 3B has 122 missing, Upper Trishuli 3A has 43, and the Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project (111MW) has 44, according to the data. India sent a third relief flight on Friday, carrying an 11-member specialised technical team of medical and tunnel experts. Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet, spokesperson for the Nepal army , said 15 helicopters and at least 84 trained personnel had been deployed, with hundreds of rescuers available. Tul Gurung, president of the association, said that at Chilme — a 22MW operational site run by the Chilme Hydropower Company — six people are reported trapped in a 250-metre tunnel. “Our teams reached 130 metres, after clearing the debris. India sent the NDRF to Nepal after the 2015 earthquake and to Turkey and Myanmar in recent years.
Apart from Indians, the trapped include nationals of Nepal, South Korea , China and Germany, an official at Nepal’s ministry of energy, water resources and irrigation said. The team carried out an on-site reconnaissance of the affected hydropower tunnels during the day, the Indian embassy in Kathmandu said. “A specialised technical team from India carried out on-site reconnaissance of hydropower tunnels in the area affected by the flash flood, which will help in facilitating early search and rescue of stranded individuals,” the embassy said in a statement. The operation is ongoing at several hydropower project sites,” he said. A Chinese company is also set to join the rescue, a second official at the energy ministry said. They are cutting through the muck,” he said. NDRF officials said the Union home ministry has asked them to be on standby.
