Kathmandu, September 8
Search and rescue operations are continuing for people who remain unaccounted for at various hydropower projects following floods in the Bhotekoshi River.
According to the Nepal Army, joint teams were deployed on Tuesday to several hydropower projects in Rasuwa and Nuwakot to search for missing workers.
At the Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project, a joint team comprising Nepal Army personnel and project representatives reached the powerhouse and control point as part of the search operation.
At the Rasuwa Bhotekoshi Hydropower Project, a drone search of the cable tunnel at Ronga located one body, according to the Nepal Army.
Search and rescue operations are also continuing at the Langtang Hydropower Project.
At the Chilime Hydropower Project, teams have entered the tunnel to search for missing people. A joint team, including foreign technicians, has prepared an access route inside the tunnel using four large pipes, each six metres long.
A large rock blocking the road between Syafrubesi and the Chilime hydropower tunnel was blasted and removed to allow heavy equipment to reach the site. The Army said another 95 metres remained to be covered before reaching the “major rock.”
Inside the tunnel, teams are using winches and buckets to clear debris. The joint team has advanced about 115 metres into the tunnel during the search.
At the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project, a joint team including foreign technicians has entered about 400 metres into the main access tunnel to conduct searches.
At the Trishuli-3A Hydropower Project, a joint team comprising 34 Nepal Army personnel, four Armed Police Force personnel and project representatives is searching the powerhouse and tunnel.
At the Upper Trishuli-3B Hydropower Project, 101 Nepal Army personnel and project representatives have been deployed for the search. Three excavators were used to dig to a depth of around 23 feet around the project office and residential areas, but no missing people were found there, according to the Army.
Large numbers of workers at hydropower projects have remained unaccounted for following the Bhotekoshi floods. Teams involving the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, foreign technicians and representatives of the affected projects have been mobilised for search and rescue operations.
The operations have been complicated by buried structures, mud and debris inside tunnels and difficult terrain.
According to the Nepal Army, 919 employees and workers at 11 hydropower projects in Rasuwa and Nuwakot remain unaccounted for.
