Nepal Pumps Air into Hydropower Plant Tunnel Trapping At Least 100, Intensifies Rescue Efforts

Authorities are making all-out efforts to rescue survivors trapped in a hydroelectric power plant tunnel, where at least 100 workers are estimated to be isolated following massive floods in the Himalayan mountainous region near the Nepal-China border, by drilling access points and pumping air through pipes.

According to foreign media outlets including AFP and EFE on the 30th local time, the Nepali military rescue team announced the previous night that they successfully drilled an access point into the upper section of the mud-buried tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydroelectric power plant in Bagmati Province, central Nepal.

Sudan Kirati, Nepal's Home Minister, stated, "We have already started pumping air through a small hole," adding, "We will now begin excavation work and send rescue teams inside."

Nepal's Ministry of Energy also reported, "We have achieved partial success in the excavation work" and "have initiated operations to introduce cameras and oxygen into the tunnel."

A joint rescue team consisting of 82 personnel, including 62 Nepali soldiers and 20 police officers, has begun installing pipes to supply air and deploying cameras into the tunnel.

Authorities stated that they are working continuously, including removing mud piled up inside the tunnel.

Nepali authorities believe that at least 933 workers are missing across more than 11 hydropower plant sites, and among them, around 100 may be trapped alive inside the tunnel.

Authorities are concentrating their rescue efforts particularly on the Trishuli 3A and Trishuli 3B power plants.

Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha noted, "Rescue operations are underway in multiple tunnels," adding that work continues despite "bad weather and extremely difficult conditions."

Specialized tunnel rescue teams from India and China have also joined the rescue operations.

India has dispatched 11 specialized rescue personnel to Nepal, including "rat-hole" miners skilled in crawling through narrow spaces, who possess extensive experience in high-difficulty tunnel rescue operations in the Himalayan region.

China also sent a specialized tunnel rescue team of nine members to Nepal to assist with the hydropower plant rescue operations, according to China Central Television (CCTV).

In addition, Nepal's professional mountain rescue teams, which have rescued climbers from the world's highest peaks including Mount Everest, are searching for missing persons at other damaged hydropower sites.

Tul Singh Gurung, president of the Nepal National Mountain Guides Association, said, "We think our skills will be helpful because we have performed similar tasks, such as rescuing people trapped in dangerous places in mountainous areas."

Rescue personnel are struggling to find missing persons, wading and crawling through massive amounts of mud covering the damaged areas, including the hydropower plants.

Khawan Koirala, a Nepali rescue worker who was relieved after 18 hours of exhausting work, told AFP, "It is all mud. I have experienced floods in Nepal before, but I have never seen anything like this," adding, "It feels very traumatic for me."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.