The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Nepal near the Tibet border has risen above 1,000, according to the country's disaster management authorities, as rescue teams continue a desperate search for thousands of missing people.
More than 3,900 people are still unaccounted for, including over 600 workers believed to be trapped inside tunnels at several hydropower projects along the Trishuli River.
Rescue teams have been pumping air into the underground tunnels in an effort to keep those trapped alive. Although rescuers managed to enter one tunnel, they were forced to withdraw after finding no survivors.
Among those waiting anxiously for news is Anushila Bhandari, whose 33-year-old husband, engineer Aurus Bhandari, disappeared while working at one of the project sites.
“I wish we could find him. I wish he would come home,” she told BBC News Nepali.
Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah said on Monday that 279 people had so far been rescued from the affected hydropower sites.
The complex rescue effort involves Nepalese and Chinese military personnel, with specialists from India, South Korea and Australia also contributing to the operation.
Explosives Used to Reach Trapped Workers
Nepalese Army personnel have begun using explosives to break through sections of the mountainside and clear paths toward tunnels that may contain missing workers.
The hydropower facilities employ hundreds of people, ranging from local and migrant workers to engineers and other highly trained specialists.
Nepal depends heavily on hydropower, and numerous projects have been developed along its mountainous rivers over the past several years. Authorities say at least 11 hydropower projects that were either operating or under construction suffered damage during the floods.
Rescuers started pumping air into one of the tunnels over the weekend. However, relatives of missing workers have expressed frustration, saying the effort should have begun sooner.
A rescue team entered a tunnel connected to one of the hydropower plants on Monday but had to retreat after finding no people inside.
“The longer it takes, the more our hope dies,” Jiban Khadka, whose relative is believed to be trapped at one of the sites, told the Kantipur newspaper.
“This operation must move much faster because every second is meaningful to us,” he added, describing the rescue as painfully slow.
Authorities Warn of Growing Climate Risks
Prime Minister Shah said rescue efforts had been intensified and described the disaster as an extraordinary event.
He also linked the scale of the destruction to growing environmental risks in the Himalayan region.
“This incident indicates that the risks we face in the Himalayan region are increasing alongside climate change,” Shah said in a Facebook post.
He called on the international community to pay greater attention to disasters affecting Himalayan countries and to strengthen cooperation in responding to the consequences of climate change.
For families waiting for news, however, the immediate priority remains finding their loved ones.
Priya Kharel is among those anxiously awaiting information about her brother Milan, an engineer who was working at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project when the floods struck.
“Those who returned from the hydropower site said there were people inside the tunnel,” she told BBC News Nepali.
She said the reports had given the family some hope that the workers could still be rescued if emergency teams reached them quickly.
Rescue Teams Face Huge Challenges
Australian engineer Arnold Dix, who has been assisting Nepalese authorities remotely with the underground search, said rescuers were facing enormous difficulties locating the tunnels.
Much of the infrastructure has been buried or destroyed by the force of the flooding and landslides, making it difficult to identify the original tunnel entrances.
Dix described the affected landscape as resembling a “lunar landscape”, with huge rocks and debris covering areas where the hydropower facilities once stood.
Once rescuers determine the location of the underground facilities, they must identify the safest and fastest routes to reach them. This can involve extensive excavation as well as blasting through massive boulders.
Dix said some of the rocks blocking access were larger than houses, making the operation exceptionally challenging.
Despite the obstacles, he said there was still reason to hope for the workers believed to be underground. Tunnels and other underground structures may have provided some protection from the powerful floodwaters sweeping across the surface.
With thousands still missing and hundreds feared trapped underground, rescue teams are racing against time to reach the affected sites and determine who may still be alive.
