Rescuers send air and camera into Nepal hydropower tunnel after three days, raise hopes for trapped workers

KATHMANDU, Aug 30 - Nepali army rescuers entered a hydropower tunnel on Saturday, pumping air and deploying a camera in hopes of reaching workers trapped since a devastating floods three days prior. The government estimates that up to 100 workers may still be alive and trapped at hydropower projects, with a focus on the Trishuli 3A and 3B sites.

These workers are among 933 missing since a wall of mud and debris collapsed on Wednesday morning, as reported by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. The US Geological Survey attributed the disaster to a glacial collapse, with nearly 3,000 people missing and 682 confirmed dead. At Trishuli 3A, the army rescue teams began drilling on Saturday evening, breaking through into the upper part of the mud-swamped tunnel.

Nepal's Home Minister, Sudan Gurung, announced that "partial success has been achieved in the drilling operation" and that efforts were underway to send a camera and oxygen into the tunnel. The Ministry of Energy reported that "efforts have begun to try to send a camera and oxygen into the tunnel". Specialized Indian and Chinese tunnel-rescue teams have also joined the rescue efforts.

Nepal's Energy Minister, Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, confirmed that rescue operations are ongoing in multiple tunnel sites despite adverse weather and challenging conditions. Photographs showed workers wading through churned mud and navigating boulders left by the floods. Nepal has appealed for specialized rescue kits, including heavy-lift drones and technologies to locate people alive in the affected areas.

Nepal's mountain rescue teams, accustomed to aiding climbers on Everest, are also contributing to the search.