Workers trapped in tunnels at hydropower sites in Nepal after catastrophic flooding
RASUWA, Nepal (NBC, KYMA) - Rescuers tried to free hundreds of workers Monday believed to be trapped in tunnels at hydropower sites that were buried in mud by catastrophic flooding on the Nepal-China border.
The combined deaths in Nepal and China surpassed 900, with more than 4,700 people missing.
A private-sector association representing power companies said at least 900 workers were unaccounted for at 12 hydropower projects damaged by the flash floods in Nepal's Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts.
About 500 of those workers were believed to be trapped in tunnels.
At least one expert said that some workers could have access to oxygen, but others warned that the chances of finding survivors were diminishing.
Some workers managed to call for help when the disaster struck last Wednesday.
Others who managed to flee reported to authorities and relatives that many of their colleagues were still in the tunnels, said Mohan Kumar Dangi, President of the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal, or Ippan.
It was unclear whether rescuers have had any contact with the trapped workers since the initial calls for help.
Six days after the disaster, fears were growing that some might have suffocated, Dangi said.
Rescue efforts were focused on people trapped in the gigantic tunnels built for controlling the flow of water.
In the upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project, in the hard-hit Rasuwa district, at least 576 people were missing, Dangi said, adding that around 300 of them were believed to be trapped inside the project's tunnel.
At the Trishuli-3 hydropower project, crews were working to descend about 50 feet into a tunnel in an effort to reach those believed trapped inside, according to Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet, Nepal's army spokesman.
Workers shoveling mud from a flood-ravaged power station in Dhading, Nepal, said that the station is a key connection for providing power to over 20,000 people in the region.
Nepal's disaster agency said Monday that 903 deaths had been counted in that country, with 4,247 people missing, including 592 foreigners.
As of Sunday, Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 missing. Chinese state media said 261 of the missing were foreigners, including over 100 Nepalis.
