Rescuers in Nepal are continuing efforts to reach survivors potentially trapped in tunnels along the Trishuli River, eight days after flash floods caused by a glacial collapse killed at least 1,252 people and left 4,216 missing. The floods, triggered by a “glacial collapse” high in the Himalayas, swept through roads and villages, impacting numerous hydropower projects. At the Trishuli-3A hydropower project, a 93-member team, including Chinese tunnel specialists, is working to reach workers feared trapped underground. Australian tunnel safety expert Arnold Dix is urging rescuers to maintain hope, stating that tunnels can provide stable air and survivable spaces even after devastation above ground, and that “silence is not evidence of death.” Footage from around the time of the August 26 flood shows approximately 30 people entering the Trishuli-3A tunnels for shelter. Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) reports that around 900 people working at hydropower projects are among those unreachable, while 11,993 have been rescued. The scale of the operation is being compared to 23 simultaneous tunnel rescues like the one completed in India in 2023, where 41 workers were saved after 17 days. Authorities estimate around 20,000 homes will need to be rebuilt in safer locations. While bodies have been recovered from the Langtang tunnel, the fate of those still missing, particularly those within the tunnels, remains uncertain.
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