Rescue teams in Nepal are racing to reach hundreds of workers feared trapped inside hydropower tunnels after catastrophic flooding killed more than 900 people and left thousands missing across the Himalayan region.
Nepal’s government said Monday that 903 bodies have been recovered and about 4,200 people remain unaccounted for, including roughly 590 foreign nationals. More than 10,000 people have been rescued. Across the border in Tibet, Chinese authorities have reported another 16 deaths and more than 500 people missing.
The rescue effort is now increasingly focused on Nepal’s damaged hydropower facilities. An industry group estimates about 900 workers are unaccounted for across 12 hydropower projects, with at least 500 feared trapped in tunnels. Heavy deposits of mud and debris have blocked entrances and made reaching underground areas extremely difficult. Specialized tunnel-rescue teams from India and China are working alongside Nepali authorities, while South Korea has also deployed assistance.
The disaster began Wednesday after a massive rockfall beneath a glacier high in the Himalayas sent rock, ice and meltwater crashing into river valleys below. The resulting torrent swept away buildings, bridges and roads across parts of Tibet and Nepal. Scientists studying satellite imagery said the initial collapse was powerful enough to register as a magnitude 5.2 seismic event.
The destruction has also dealt a major blow to Nepal’s power system. Flood damage has knocked an estimated 700 megawatts of generating capacity offline — about 10% of the country’s total — exposing the vulnerability of hydropower infrastructure built along increasingly hazardous Himalayan rivers.
Nepal says international assistance is already arriving from the United States, India, China, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and other partners. With thousands still missing, however, the immediate priority remains finding survivors — particularly inside the buried hydropower tunnels where rescuers believe some workers may still be alive.
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Glacier Collapse Triggers Catastrophic Floods in Nepal and Tibet, Leaving More Than 1,300 Missing
