Rescue teams in Nepal are racing against time to reach 46 workers believed to be trapped inside an underground chamber at the Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant, nearly a week after devastating floods and mudslides struck the region.
A Nepal Electricity Authority official says there is a strong possibility the workers are still alive because the chamber is believed to contain food and water. Rescuers are now preparing to enter the tunnel again after an earlier attempt failed to reach the suspected location.
The Rasuwagadhi Hydroelectric Project, a 111-megawatt facility in Rasuwa district, is located about 5km from Nepal’s border with China. The tunnel has been heavily obstructed by mud, rocks and debris, making the rescue extremely difficult.
At another major site, Upper Trishuli 3A, rescuers also believe workers could be sheltering in a dry underground chamber. Authorities are using drilling equipment, oxygen supplies and other technology to try to reach the trapped workers.
The scale of the disaster is enormous. Nepali authorities have rescued 279 people from hydropower projects affected by the floods, while at least 639 others remained missing in the latest figures cited by Reuters.
International teams from India, China and other countries are assisting Nepal, with specialists using advanced equipment to search through tunnels filled with mud and debris. The United Nations Development Programme has estimated that the disaster generated about 2.2 million tonnes of debris.
The floods followed a glacial collapse near Nepal’s border with China and devastated communities, roads and critical infrastructure across the Himalayan region. More than 1,200 people have been confirmed dead, while thousands remain missing, according to the latest reports.
For families waiting outside the damaged hydropower facilities, the possibility that survivors remain underground has become a race against time.
The question now is whether rescuers can clear the tunnels quickly enough to reach them.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D
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