Kathmandu, August 28
Relatives of 40-45 employees of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), said to be trapped in a tunnel in Rasuwa, have gathered at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.
According to Sita Adhikari of Kapilvastu, her husband had gone to the Rasuwa 3A Hydropower Project from Kulekhani III.
“We believe he’s trapped inside the tunnel, but there’s been no rescue effort. There are 40 to 45 government employees in there. Where are we supposed to go?” she said, speaking to journalists outside the Prime Minister’s Office.
She said she has no way of knowing whether any rescue attempt has been made, and complained that the response has been slow.
“They need to be rescued, even if it means bringing in help from abroad,” she said. “We’ve had no contact with them at all. It’s already been three days. What is the government doing?”
She said her husband works for the NEA.
According to her, the employees, including her husband, would typically eat breakfast at 7 am and head down into the tunnel to work, after which they would become unreachable. She said she was last in contact with him at 7 am on August 27, and has had no contact since.
She appealed to the government for rescue efforts, saying communication became impossible after the flood hit Rasuwa. She added that her husband had gone to Rasuwa on August 29 and had remained there since.
