"It Was Hell"... Bodies Keep Emerging Despite Desperate Rescue Efforts

[Anchor]

More than 900 people are missing at a single hydropower plant construction site where a massive flood instantly buried the area in mud and debris. With hundreds estimated to be trapped inside a construction tunnel, rescue teams have managed to enter part of the tunnel to supply food and air, but have yet to confirm any survivors.

Reporter Kim Minpyo has more.

[Reporter]

A rescue worker descends into the hydropower plant tunnel with a rope tied around their waist.

Because both sides of the tunnel entrance were blocked by mud, workers drilled through the upper section to create a rescue access route.

Operations to inspect the inside of the tunnel using cameras are also underway.

Oxygen is being supplied and food is being sent to areas where survivors are likely to have gathered.

About a dozen tunnel rescue experts dispatched from China and India have also joined the efforts.

Despite desperate, round-the-clock rescue operations, no survivors have been found, and instead, bodies are only being recovered near the entrance.

Those who miraculously escaped the tunnel by being carried or crawling describe the place as hell.

[Ram Chandra / Tunnel Survivor: I was hanging onto a ladder attached to the ceiling. If I had let go, I would have fallen into the muddy water mixed with concrete.]

[Amar Vista / Rescue Volunteer: When we entered the tunnel, the reality was just too gruesome. I cannot put it into words.]

Nepali authorities believe that about 900 people are missing across more than 10 hydropower plants, with a significant number trapped inside the tunnels.

It is reported that multiple large tunnels were built at each plant to channel water from upstream or to install machinery.

[Take a look at how deep it is here.]

Mud still fills and hardens inside the tunnels, and work to drill upper access routes remains slow.

Nepali authorities are fighting a time-sensitive battle to prevent the tunnels from turning into massive tombs.

It is the sixth day since the massive flood occurred.

The death toll across China and Nepal has risen to 919, with nearly 4,800 people reported missing.

(Video Editing: Kim Byung-jik, Video Source: X '@sustainme_in')
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.