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yesterday

Rescue Effort Narrows to Three Mud‑Choked Hydropower Tunnels as Nepal Toll Exceeds 1,350

Attempts to reach about 121 people believed trapped in tunnels are slowed by deep silt, damaged roads, overwhelmed forensic capacity, limited helicopter access

Hira Shova Maharjan, 45, wife of Kabir Maharjan, a survivor pulled out alive after spending nine days trapped in a hydropower station tunnel following flash floods and a mudslide, reacts during an interview with Reuters at a cafe near an army hospital where her husband is currently admitted, in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 6, 2026. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Members of Nepal Army's search-and-rescue team work near a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project following devastating floods and mudslides that struck the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa, Nepal, September 4, 2026. Nepal Army/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
Members of the Nepal Army search and rescue team carry a survivor they rescued alive after he had been trapped inside a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project following devastating floods and mudslides that struck the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa, Nepal, September 4, 2026. Nepal Army/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
Members of a search and rescue team work to remove the body (not pictured) of a person who was trapped inside a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-3A Hydropower Project following devastating floods and mudslides that struck the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa, Nepal, September 4, 2026. APF Nepal/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT.

Overview

  • A sudden ice‑and‑rock avalanche on August 26 sent a debris flood down the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli corridors, killing more than 1,350 people and leaving roughly 4,900–5,400 missing across Nepal and Tibet.
  • Authorities now concentrate search teams on three tunnel sites — Chilime and Upper Trishuli 3A/3B — where the army says about 121 of the hydroelectric workers could still be trapped inside interconnected, mud‑filled tunnels.
  • Rescuers report heavy technical limits: excavators and equipment sink in thick sludge, narrow valleys block large helicopter lifts, and teams must use specialist tunnel methods and manual clearance to reach buried passages.
  • Mortuary and identification systems are overwhelmed, with only a small share of recovered bodies formally identified, prompting temporary burials and large DNA‑sample efforts that are slowing family notifications.
  • Nepal has accepted international help and is prioritising emergency bridge and road repairs to restore access, while families hold protests and pressure authorities for faster, clearer rescue and accountability.