Rescue teams in Nepal intensified operations Saturday to locate and free hundreds of workers trapped in tunnels at hydroelectric power stations following devastating floods that struck the country's border region with China earlier in the week.
The Nepalese Army and Police worked throughout Saturday to locate workers from more than 11 hydroelectric projects that remained cut off after an avalanche inundated the Trishuli River basin on Wednesday. According to Nepal's National Authority for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, a total of 933 workers remain unaccounted for as of Saturday.
Local government officials stated that more than 100 of the missing workers may still be alive and trapped within the tunnels of the projects. Rescue efforts have focused on drilling operations at the Trishuli 3A and 3B sites.
Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha provided an update Saturday afternoon on the progress of rescue operations, though details of his statement were not fully available at the time of reporting.
The flooding occurred in the Trishuli River basin, a region where multiple hydroelectric facilities operate. The scale of the disaster, affecting workers across numerous projects simultaneously, has required coordinated response efforts from both military and police personnel.