Around 900 workers are missing at various hydropower projects along the Trishuli River in Nepal's remote and mountainous region following devastating flash floods on August 26, according to the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
Thick mud buried multiple hydropower facilities during the flooding, trapping scores of workers underground. Rescue teams and foreign specialists are racing to locate the missing workers as conditions deteriorate.
A local police chief in one of Nepal's worst-hit districts warned Thursday that the likelihood of finding workers alive was declining, though authorities said they are continuing rescue efforts. The operation at the Upper Trishuli-3A hydropower project is being conducted as a rescue operation rather than a recovery effort, officials said.
Australian tunnel safety and disaster expert Arnold Dix, who is remotely assisting the operation, urged rescuers not to give up hope. Footage recorded around the time of the August 26 flood shows approximately 30 people moving toward and seeking shelter inside the power station tunnels, Dix said in a statement posted on LinkedIn.
Dix noted that tunnels can remain comparatively stable after devastation occurs above ground, and that underground powerhouses could offer survivable air pockets while teams search for the missing workers. He emphasized that the operation should continue as a rescue effort given the potential for survivors to have found shelter within the tunnel systems.
The Trishuli River winds through multiple districts in the region. Homes and infrastructure along the river have sustained significant damage from the flooding.