Kathmandu, September 6
The search for workers missing from the Langtang Khola Hydropower Project following the Bhotekoshi flood has been called off after rescue teams found only two bodies inside the project’s tunnel.
A joint team of the Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force stopped the search after determining that further efforts inside the tunnel were no longer necessary.
According to details provided by the Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN), 39 people associated with the 20 MW Langtang Khola Hydropower Project remain unaccounted for.
Nineteen other people working at the project site were rescued after the flood.
The project, which had completed construction and was undergoing testing, is being developed by Multi Energy Development Pvt Ltd.
Langtang Khola Hydropower Project manager Bijay Mohan Bhattarai said the search inside the tunnel was suspended after Saturday following the recovery of two bodies.
The rescue team entered the tunnel by cutting through the penstock pipe. The two bodies were found inside, but they were badly damaged and have not yet been identified, according to IPPAN.
The bodies will be identified through DNA testing before being handed over to their families.
Bhattarai said the 39 missing people are believed to have been swept away by the flood. With no further signs of the missing workers found inside the tunnel, the search operation has now been stopped.
