Indian rescuers hope for miracle to save six at Nepal power project following flash floods

Rescuers have cleared about 100 metres of debris and are working to remove a boulder blocking access to the underground power station.

Twenty tunnel experts from the Indian Army and NDRF, along with 37 Nepalese Army personnel engaged in the rescue operation, are hopeful of a breakthrough in their search for 6 stuck workers at Nepal’s Chilime 22 MW hydro power project within the next 12-24 hours.

The Nepali Army conducts a search-and-rescue operation inside the Chilime Hydropower Station tunnel days after deadly flash floods and mudslides in Nepal's Rasuwa district. (AFP)

The authorities of the Chilime Hydropower Company have told rescuers that the workers got stuck after a boulder blocked their path in the aftermath of the massive flash floods triggered by an avalanche on August 26.

Indian teams assigned to Chilime and Langtang Khola

When contingents from different countries were deployed for search and rescue operations, they were assigned different projects. While rescue teams from South Korea, Australia and China were assigned different sites within Upper Trishul 1 project, the Indian contingent was put on rescue work at Chilime and Langtang Khola (39 missing).

India has also sent experts from the Border Roads Organisation(BRO). These experts, along with the Nepalese army, cleared almost 100 metres of debris consisting of muck and stone boulders to reach one last accessible point just ahead of the underground power station.

“There is a big boulder that has blocked the entry. After building a motorable approach road for excavators, the rescuers have cleared over 100 metres of debris and muck from this tunnel. The experts believed that a boulder may have blocked the entry of debris and muck inside the tunnel. At the time of the incident, the people inside were behind an underground tunnel, which had not collapsed,” an official aware of the matter said.

Rescuers hope trapped workers may still be alive

Officials were unable to send food or water inside the underground power station and have yet to receive any message from the men possibly trapped inside. However, rescuers are hoping that the six men could be alive as the station had drinking water, some space to move around, and the debris flow could have been blocked by the boulders. Rescue operations have continued at different sites in Nepal for the last 18 days, and officials said the rescuers here are hoping for a miracle.

On Sunday afternoon, the local authorities sought help after a major component of a Kawasaki ZV60 — a huge machine used for lifting and loading heavy bulk materials such as dirt, gravel and construction debris — which was being used inside the tunnel developed a snag. “The vehicle was doing most of the digging work to break the boulder that blocks the entry to the underground power house. The authorities will be airlifting all the major components required to get the excavator back in action. If there are no issues, the rescuers will be able to reach the power house, which they had been trying to do for the last two weeks. It will be the first big breakthrough,” the official added.

Nepal Army builds road to move heavy rescue equipment

The Nepal army has, in the last week, built a road from Syafrubesi to one end of the Chilime tunnel to bring the excavators and other large vehicles for rescue work in the tunnel.

According to the latest update shared by Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, at least 1,386 people have died and 5,130 people(including those missing at hydropower projects) are reported missing in the flash floods disaster. Though the government has not released data for those missing from hydropower projects, HT has seen data maintained by hydropower companies ,which showed 909 people at 11 hydropower project sites are yet to be accounted for.