Nearly 900 Remain Trapped in Nepal's Flooded Power Tunnels

Over 930 workers trapped in Nepal hydropower tunnels after devastating flood kills 900+. International rescue teams deployed amid worsening weather.

A sudden, devastating flood has swept through Nepal, killing over 900 people and leaving approximately 4,000 missing. The disaster has created a secondary crisis commanding urgent attention: rescue teams are racing to extract nearly 933 workers trapped inside tunnel networks beneath multiple hydroelectric power facilities across the nation.

The rescue operation has focused on three hydropower projects-Upper Trisuli 1, Trisuli 3A, and Trisuli 3B-each critical to Nepal's electricity generation. The installations are partially interconnected. Trisuli 3B depends on water flowing from Trisuli 3A. Upper Trisuli 1 represents the highest hydropower dam on the river. When floodwaters struck, this facility was actively under construction, placing workers in particularly precarious circumstances.

Rescue workers launched their first major intervention Sunday by carving a substantial opening into the Trisuli 3A tunnel. Prime Minister Balendar Shah reported that rescuers called loudly into the tunnel but heard no response from anyone inside.

The scale of potential trapped workers is striking. Officials believe employees from as many as 13 separate hydropower projects nationwide may be stranded in interconnected tunnel systems. To accelerate rescue access and create communication with those below ground, authorities authorized controlled explosions in surrounding hills. Early Monday morning at approximately 2 a.m., rescue teams detonated a controlled blast at the Trisuli 3A site in Rasuwagadhi, designed to breach structural barriers and create wider passages for extraction efforts.

Environmental conditions are working against rescue teams. Meteorological forecasts indicate heavy rainfall will continue across Nepal's northern regions in the coming days. Water, mud, and debris have already clogged tunnel approaches and slowed rescue coordination. BBC correspondent Sanjay Dhakal reported from Rasuwagadhi, where military personnel entered the hydropower tunnel during early searches but discovered no survivors. To extend the search deeper into sections unreachable by humans, rescue teams deployed drones for interior surveillance.

International assistance has now mobilized. Rescue teams from India, China, and South Korea have deployed personnel to support Nepali operations. The Nepali government has requested specialized technical assistance, particularly in confined-space tunnel rescue procedures and DNA-based identification of deceased workers.

The human toll creates additional urgency. Priya Kharel is searching for her brother Milan, an engineer employed at Upper Trisuli-1. She told BBC researchers: "People who escaped said others remain alive in the tunnel. If the military reaches them quickly, they can be saved." Yet Milan's name appears on no official list of the missing, rescued, or dead.

Seeta Pande faces similar anguish over her husband Jibhlal Adhikari, believed trapped at Trisuli-3A. In remarks to Kantipur newspaper, she described her fading expectations: "I still hold 50 percent hope he is alive-there is an oxygen system in the tunnel. But each hour that passes, that hope shrinks."

The missing persons count continues climbing. Nepal's Electricity Authority and the Independent Power Producers Association report that at least 897 employees from hydropower projects remain unaccounted for, including Adhikari and countless others now enduring an agonizing waiting period.

Rescue workers began pumping air into tunnels on the weekend. However, some families insist this action should have commenced immediately. A relative of Jiban Khadka, also presumed trapped, articulated frustration many families now share: "Every hour is critical. As time passes, our chances of rescue fade. This operation must accelerate immediately."

Nepal flood, trapped workers, rescue operation, hydropower tunnels, disaster rescue, Trisuli project, international aid