Nepal flash floods: Six bodies found in Upper Trishuli-1 tunnel search

Rescuers recovered six bodies from the Audit-3 tunnel at Nepal's Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project. The discovery underscores the lingering toll of the August 26 flash floods as searches continue for thousands still missing.

In Short

• Bodies were trapped in steel mesh inside the Audit-3 tunnel
• Rescuers used grinders, gas cutters and rotary tools during extraction
• An ice-rock avalanche near Tibet triggered the August 26 disaster

Six bodies were recovered on Friday from a tunnel at a hydropower project in Nepal as search operations continued for people missing after last month’s devastating flash floods, which have killed more than 1,400 people and left over 6,100 untraced.

The bodies were found at the Upper Trishuli-1 project in Nuwakot district, while rescue teams kept searching other affected sites as roads linking key parts of the country also returned to regular two-way traffic.

The Nepal Army said a joint team of security forces recovered the bodies from the Audit-3 tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 project site. The bodies were found entangled in a steel reinforcement mesh prepared for concrete work inside the tunnel. According to Nepal Army Headquarters, the team used grinders, gas cutters and rotary rescue equipment to remove them.

The Bhotekoshi flash floods were triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26. The floods devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal, killing at least 1,410 people and leaving 6,145 missing as of Thursday. Search and rescue teams have so far rescued more than 13,756 people from different affected areas.

The search operation at Upper Trishuli-1 is continuing as rescuers suspect more bodies could be buried under mud inside the tunnel. Earlier, a joint team, including foreign technicians, had entered about 400 metres into the main access tunnel at the project to search for missing workers.

Search operations have also been underway at several other hydropower projects, including Rasuwagadhi, Rasuwa Bhotekoshi, Langtang, Trishuli-3A and Upper Trishuli-3B. At the Chilime hydropower project, five bodies were recovered from a tunnel on Wednesday after Indian and Nepali rescue teams cleared slush and mud to reach the underground powerhouse. No survivors were found.

Meanwhile, the Tribhuvan and Kanti highways, the two main routes connecting Hetauda with Kathmandu, resumed regular two-way vehicular movement from Friday, according to Santosh Subedi, administrative officer at the District Administration Office in Makawanpur. The move followed the resumption of traffic at the Krishnabhir section of the Prithvi Highway in Dhading district, which had been blocked after the road collapsed following the August 26 floods.

The Tribhuvan Highway connects Hetauda with Kathmandu via Palung-Naubise, while the Kanti Highway connects the two cities via Tikabhairav-Lalitpur. Since September 1, goods carriers and large vehicles had been using the Tribhuvan Highway to reach Kathmandu and the Kanti Highway for the return journey to ensure smoother and safer traffic movement after the Prithvi Highway obstruction. With the Krishnabhir section now operational, both highways have been opened for regular two-way traffic, Subedi said.

The latest recovery at Upper Trishuli-1 underlined the continuing impact of the August 26 flash floods, with rescue teams still searching tunnels and project sites for the missing even as transport links in the affected areas are being restored.

With PTI Inputs

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