Nepal Chilime tunnel rescue advances as Indian and Nepali teams push on

Indian and Nepali rescue teams are clearing debris inside the Chilime hydropower tunnel to reach six trapped workers. The intensified operation underscores the wider human toll of Nepal's flood-hit hydropower disaster.

In Short

• Heavy machinery has cleared about 70 metres deeper into the tunnel
• The underground powerhouse is estimated to be roughly 60 metres away
• Rescue teams plan overnight work with new roads easing equipment access

Rescue operations are continuing at Nepal's Chilime hydropower project, where six workers are believed to be trapped inside a tunnel. Indian and Nepali teams are using heavy machinery to clear mud and debris as they move towards an underground powerhouse where the workers are thought to be located.

The operation gathered pace after an excavator, loader and Bobcat were brought into the tunnel, India's Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava said in an update on Saturday. He said the technical team had cleared about 70 metres further, and according to the project manager, the powerhouse is about 60 metres further down the tunnel.

Srivastava said rescue teams were to continue working through the night to reach the powerhouse. Authorities said the Border Roads Organisation had also prepared the approach road to the rescue site. Separately, Nepal's Army said it had built more than a kilometre of access road from Syafrubesi towards the Chilime tunnel, allowing rescue equipment to be taken closer to the site.

According to a report published in the Khabarhub news portal, the Nepal Army and Indian rescue personnel are jointly working inside the Chilime tunnel. The report also said the Army has prioritised rescue operations at the Upper Trishuli-3B hydropower project, where more than 100 Army personnel have been deployed. The Himalayan Times reported on Sunday that Nepali Army personnel were continuing search-and-rescue operations at the Upper Trishuli-3B project site as well.

At Chilime, there has been no public confirmation that rescuers have established contact with the six workers. Reports said rescuers had found a pocket of air near the area where the workers are believed to be trapped, but this does not establish that they are alive or that contact has been made.

The rescue efforts come after flash floods triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26 devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal. The floods, carried downstream by the Bhotekoshi River, swept away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaged hydropower projects. Nearly 1,400 people were killed and more than 5,000 remain missing, while around 100 people are believed to be trapped in nearly a dozen tunnels linked to hydropower projects in the affected areas.

With PTI Inputs

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