{
  "id": 6101681,
  "title": "Nepal tunnel rescues face 'unprecedented' challenge",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/nepal-tunnel-rescues-face-unprecedented-challenge",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-07T05:16:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/09/1527463/nepal-tunnel-rescues-face-unprecedented-challenge"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KATHMANDU: Flood disaster in Nepal has presented an unprecedented challenge, according to Australian rescue expert Arnold Dix. On August 26, a glacial and mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border resulted in at least 1,385 deaths and over 5,500 people still missing across the two nations. Among the missing are hundreds of hydropower workers, with rescue operations now in their 13th day.\n\nDix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, expressed that he has never encountered such a situation before. \"Not one rescue, but multiple potential rescues, unfolding at the same time, in different places, each with its own dangers, uncertainties, and lives that may still be saved,\" he stated on social media.\n\nNepal is observing a national day of mourning on Monday following traditional Hindu rituals, yet rescue efforts persist with the same intensity as the first day. Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet informed AFP that their focus lies on search and rescue at three levels: on ground, by air, and within the tunnels, ensuring no one remains stranded.\n\nThe rescue of three workers from deep within tunnels – two Nepalis on Friday and a Chinese man on Saturday – has given hope for finding additional survivors. Foreign experts, including those from China, India, and South Korea, are assisting Nepali teams in the rescue operation, alongside Dix.\n\nDix emphasized that they are judged not only by the lives they save but also by the lives they refuse to abandon. He emphasized the lesson learned from the Indian rescue of 41 men trapped for 17 days in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand state in 2023, which taught him never to confuse unlikely with impossible.",
  "summary": "KATHMANDU: Nepal’s flood disaster posed an unprecedented challenge, Australian rescue expert Arnold Dix said Monday, with multiple search operations underway in Himalayan hydropower tunnels.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Bangkok Post",
        "title": "Nepal tunnel rescues face 'unprecedented' challenge",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/nepal-tunnel-rescues-face-unprecedented-challenge-6105960",
        "published": "2026-09-07T04:45:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Economic Times",
        "title": "Nepal tunnel rescues face 'unprecedented' challenge",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/nepal-tunnel-rescues-face-unprecedented-challenge-6103274",
        "published": "2026-09-07T04:52:34.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Nepal tunnel rescues face ‘unprecedented’ challenge",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/nepal-tunnel-rescues-face-unprecedented-challenge-6101939",
        "published": "2026-09-07T05:12:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times",
        "title": "Silkyara fame rescuer faces a never-before challenge in Nepal: 'Multiple potential rescues'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/silkyara-fame-rescuer-faces-a-never-before-challenge-in-nepal",
        "published": "2026-09-07T09:55:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}