Nepal focuses flood rescue on three hydropower tunnels as death toll reaches 1,400

Tunnel search operations

Rescuers in Nepal narrowed their search to three hydropower project tunnels where dozens of workers remain trapped two weeks after glacial flooding struck the border region with China. At least 11 hydropower facilities suffered severe damage on 26 August when a glacier collapsed into a border river, burying entrances under thick mud and debris. Teams are directing primary efforts toward the Chilime hydroelectric project, alongside the interconnected Upper Trishuli 3A and 3B tunnel networks. Technicians piped oxygen into the subterranean shafts while emergency crews transported specialized extraction equipment to clear blocked passages. Disaster officials estimate that approximately 121 of the 900 workers missing across hydroelectric sites could be sealed inside these tunnels.

Our search operation is focussed on finding survivors, including in tunnels. Our bigger focus is on the Chilime hydroelectric project, where we believe people are trapped, because there was a canteen, residency and arrangements for food.

Casualty tolls and recovery

The overall death toll across Nepal and China reached 1,400 as recovery operations continued for a 14th day. Nepal's disaster management authority reported 1,357 confirmed fatalities and 5,326 people missing by 8 September. In neighbouring Tibet, Chinese state media confirmed 43 deaths and 519 missing residents. Mortuaries in affected river valleys exceeded capacity, prompting police to bury hundreds of victims in mass graves after collecting DNA samples for future identification. Search teams recovered four survivors between 4 and 5 September, including two Nepali hydropower workers from Trishuli 3A, a Chinese national, and a woman extracted from a collapsed residence.

Family protests and equipment delays

Delays in deploying heavy extraction machinery prompted protests in Kathmandu, where relatives gathered on 7 September to demand faster rescue operations at buried plants. Families criticized authorities for waiting until the sixth or seventh day after the disaster to transport a small excavator by helicopter to the Trishuli 3B site. Approximately 140 families formed a coordinated coalition to track information, file missing-person complaints, and urge the government to deploy heavy-lift helicopters from China or India. Protesters questioned the military allocation of personnel and equipment between competing disaster sites while tunnel access points remained blocked by packed sediment.

We know our responsibility and its sensitivity. We are translating the humanitarian spirit of the Nepali people into practice through the search and rescue operation.

International aid and hydropower damage

Specialist search personnel from China, India, and South Korea joined Nepali army units along damaged river valleys. International aid agencies reported severe difficulties reaching isolated mountain communities because destroyed bridges and washed-out roads cut off ground access. The flooding also swept away foreign travelers, including 34-year-old Ukrainian photographer Iryna Kripak, who was traveling near the border on the morning of the disaster. Nepal had quadrupled its installed hydropower capacity over the past decade, building more than 210 projects across snowfed river systems to power its economy. Nepali authorities noted that nationwide reconstruction after the glacial disaster will cost billions of dollars.

Every delay means families wait longer for the support they urgently need.