Kathmandu, August 30
A rescue team has drilled five openings in an effort to send air into the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, where dozens of employees are believed to be trapped following the devastating floods in Rasuwa.
According to lawmaker and tunnel expert Shriram Neupane, the rescue team has so far been drilling openings and trying to assess the situation inside the tunnel.
Neupane, who is at the rescue site, is leading the effort.
“We are using excavators to dig and locate the tunnel slab, but we have encountered rock while digging,” Neupane told Onlinekhabar. “If there is not much rock, we should be able to locate the slab soon. Otherwise, we are also considering using explosives to try to enter the tunnel.”
The rescue operation is being carried out by teams from the Nepali Army, Nepal Electricity Authority and other tunnel experts, Neupane said.
According to Nepal Electricity Authority engineer Suraj Dahal, if an opening large enough for one or two people can be created, Nepali Army rescue experts will enter to assess the situation inside.
“If we find that mud has not entered the tunnel, we will send more rescuers inside and try to bring the trapped workers out one by one,” Dahal said.
The Nepal Electricity Authority said the rescue operation at the project tunnel began only on Friday, two days after the floods struck.
Officials have expressed growing concern for the workers trapped inside as rescue teams have been unable to break through the tunnel even after five days of efforts.
The authority estimates that around 40 to 42 technical personnel, including highly experienced experts, were working on the overhaul of the underground powerhouse when they became trapped inside the project tunnel.
