Live: Rescuers in Nepal race to reach workers stuck in hydropower tunnels
Rescue efforts in Nepal have increasingly focused on five hydropower projects inundated by the floods, including the Upper Trishuli complex, where up to 350 people could be trapped. Follow live.
Rescuers in Nepal are working urgently to rescue hundreds of people trapped in tunnels at the Trishuli-3A hydropower site following flash floods on Wednesday. The disaster has claimed at least 794 lives, with over 2,500 people still missing, according to the latest figures from the Nepal Police. Chinese authorities reported 16 fatalities and 546 missing persons in Gyirong County.
Many missing Australians were pilgrims trekking to Mount Kailash, with a group of 80, including 11 Australians, completing their spiritual journey when the floods hit. The Isha Foundation tour leader informed authorities that they reached the immigration post to cross from Tibet into Nepal just ten minutes before the disaster struck.
The immigration office complex was completely destroyed, leaving it unclear how many people from the tour had passed through the checkpoint. The Australian government pledged an additional $3 million in humanitarian aid, bringing the total support to $8 million. About 10,000 Nepali troops and specialized teams from China and India have been deployed to locate survivors in the tunnels.
Nepal's Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Mahabir Pun, highlighted several hydro power stations under construction that were blocked by the flood. While Nepal requires international assistance in tunnel rescue operations, DNA testing, and forensic identification, the Australian government remains hopeful about rescuing the missing Australians, with 12 additional consular staff sent to the region.
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