Nepali army starts drilling into hydropower tunnel to reach more than 100 trapped workers

KATHMANDU, Aug 29 — The Nepali army is employing drilling equipment to attempt rescuing more than 100 individuals trapped inside a hydropower tunnel, three days after severe floods devastated the site. The government has been persistently working to rescue those trapped within the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project's tunnel in Rasuwa, according to a statement from Nepal’s prime minister’s office.

Since early Saturday morning, intensified efforts have been made to clear the tunnel entrance. Photographs shared by the office depicted workers navigating through churned mud and vast boulders left by the floods. The rescue operation, involving 82 people including army and police personnel, has become "extremely challenging," as adverse weather conditions have further complicated the situation.

On Thursday, it was reported that the army had already rescued 350 people under "extremely risky" conditions, but over 100 remained trapped. Nepal's soldiers recently extracted a person trapped within the hydropower tunnel following flash floods in Rasuwa district, as shown in video clips released by Nepal’s Prime Minister Secretariat on August 28, 2026.

The Nepali army mentioned on Saturday that rescuers were utilizing equipment, including drilling machines, to locate the outer section of the tunnel. Additionally, India has dispatched a specialized tunnel rescue team to aid Nepal, following a request from Nepal, which arrived in Trishuli. The Indian team would initially conduct an aerial survey before commencing their rescue operations.

Nepal's prime minister’s office noted that the trapped individuals are among the 933 workers on hydropower projects situated on rivers where a wall of water descended on Wednesday morning. The US Geological Survey indicated that the disaster, triggered by a glacial collapse along the Tibet-Nepal border, resulted in nearly 3,000 missing and 633 confirmed deaths.