The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal has risen to 1,003, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA). As rescue teams continue searching for missing workers, families are recounting the horror of the August 26 disaster and urging authorities to speed up operations.
Among those waiting for answers is 20-year-old Anush Gurung, who has been searching for his 60-year-old father, Laxman, since the floods struck the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project in Rasuwa district. Anush last spoke to his father at around 8 am on August 26. Soon after, the flash floods swept through the area and Laxman disappeared.
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The family has received conflicting accounts from Laxman’s surviving colleagues about whether he was inside a tunnel when the floods hit, The Kathmandu Post reported on Tuesday. “Whom are we supposed to believe? If the tunnel is searched, we would know for certain,” Anush told the newspaper. “Now our only hope is inside the tunnel.”
Families push for faster searches
Families of missing workers are pressing authorities to accelerate rescue efforts as teams struggle to remove mud and debris blocking tunnels.
At the Upper Trishuli-3B project in Nuwakot, Bivek Pandey is searching for his 58-year-old father, Kamal Bahadur Pandey. He is among at least 122 people unaccounted for from the project, The Kathmandu Post reported.
Relatives gathered at an Army rescue and relief centre in Bidur and urged authorities to intensify the search. After several days of pressure, an excavator was brought to the site on Monday.
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“If excavation begins, the sand covering the quarters can be removed. We still have hope,” Bivek told the newspaper.
It remains unclear whether Kamal Bahadur was inside a tunnel when the flood struck.
Rescuers face blocked tunnels and difficult terrain
Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet, a Nepal Army spokesperson, told news agency Associated Press (AP) that teams, assisted by foreign experts, were carrying out searches at several hydropower projects. Army footage showed rescuers entering dark tunnels filled with debris, moving through mud and climbing over rocks while looking for missing workers.
The search has been complicated by damage to transport routes and the remote locations of many hydropower projects. Steep terrain and narrow roads already make access difficult, while the floods have damaged roads and restricted routes to some sites.
Inside the projects, rescuers are also dealing with blocked and damaged tunnels. The floods carried mud, large rocks and other debris into underground passages, collapsing sections and trapping workers. Even when tunnel entrances can be reached, teams have to clear substantial amounts of debris before they can move further inside.
An Indian tunnel rescue team has joined forces with the Nepali Army to conduct joint search and rescue operations at critical hydropower tunnel sites in Chilime, Rasuwa district, news agency ANI reported.
Floods damage 12 hydropower projects
Mohan Kumar Dangi, president of the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal, said at least 12 hydropower projects in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts were damaged by the floods. Together, the projects have a capacity of 670 MW. Four were under construction, seven were operational and one was in the testing phase.
Dangi said hydropower projects undergo risk assessments and other studies before construction, but described the August 26 flooding as “something unimaginable”.
(With inputs from agencies)
