Nepal recovers bodies but presses on for trapped tunnel workers / Photo: © AFP
Nepal recovers bodies but presses on for trapped tunnel workers
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.
"When members of the team descended using ropes and called out to those inside, there was no response," Prime Minister Balendra Shah said in an update on Sunday night.
The Nepal Army said on Monday morning that work continues to "clear water, mud, and sediment from inside the tunnel."
Specialised Indian, Chinese and South Korean tunnel-rescue teams are also helping.
At another site, Upper Trishuli-1, a Chinese team "entered approximately 300 meters (984 feet) into the tunnel and conducted a search, recovering one body", the Nepali Army said.
At the Chilime Hydro tunnel, where Indian teams are deployed, rescuers entered 100 metres inside, but then said it was blocked.
"Farther inside, was buried with mud and soil," the statement added. "During the operation, two bodies were recovered."
Nepali expert mountain rescue teams -- who regularly aid climbers on the world's highest peaks, including Everest -- are also taking part.
Rescue efforts continue to aid the tens of thousands impacted by the devastating floods, with roads smashed and bridges destroyed.
"We are continuing to work for search, rescue and relief operations," Netra Bahadur Karki, Armed Police Force spokesman, told AFP.
"Rescue teams have now reached most areas, by road or by helicopters. Our priority remains rescue and safety of the people."
The Nepal Electricity Authority said 11 hydropower stations and one solar power station, with a combined capacity of 431.1 megawatts, had stopped operating, about 10 percent of the country's installed electricity generation capacity.
Another 15 power projects under construction, with a planned capacity of 470 megawatts, were damaged.
(V.Varonivska--DTZ)
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