Nepal recovers bodies but presses on for trapped tunnel workers
Rescue teams in Nepal are working to reach hydropower workers trapped in tunnels following devastating floods that have left hundreds missing. Despite the recovery of several bodies, international rescue teams continue to search for survivors buried under mud and debris.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the extreme vulnerability of infrastructure and workers in mountainous regions prone to climate-related natural disasters.
Nepali rescuers raced on Monday in a bid to free dozens of hydropower workers believed trapped in tunnels after devastating floods as search efforts entered a sixth day, officials said.
Rescuers pulled three dead bodies out of two tunnels, finding routes smothered in mud. No contact has yet been made with any of those feared trapped, but the government says more than 100 workers may still be alive inside multiple tunnels.
They are among 933 hydropower workers missing since a wall of mud and debris swept down on Wednesday morning, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
At the Upper Trishuli 3A site, rescuers broke through into the upper part of a mud-swamped tunnel, pumping air inside, then using drilling and excavator machines to dig down.
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