Kathmandu, Aug 31: Prime Minister Balendra Shah said a Chinese rescue team has searched up to three kilometres inside a tunnel at the 216 MW Upper Trishuli 1 hydropower project in Rasuwa but has so far found no one.
Shah, who has been providing daily updates on the flood response through Facebook since the devastating Bhotekoshi flood on August 26, shared the information in a post at around 8:30 pm Sunday.
According to the Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal, 576 people remain unaccounted for at the Upper Trishuli 1 project. So far, 254 people have been rescued, while around 300 are believed to be trapped inside the tunnel.
Shah said 279 people had been evacuated from hydropower project sites in the affected areas by Nepal Army helicopters. He added that 250 people had been rescued from around Upper Trishuli 1 over the past two days.
Chinese and Korean specialist teams are continuing rescue efforts in coordination with the Nepal Army, he said.
Rescue operations are also underway inside the tunnel of the Upper Trishuli 3A project in Nuwakot. According to Shah, Nepal Army engineers have begun controlled blasting to clear access.
A joint team of 90 personnel from the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, including trained dog teams, has been deployed at the site. The team reached the main section of the tunnel on Sunday afternoon and created a two by three-foot opening.
Rescuers descended through the opening using ropes and called out to those who might be trapped inside, but received no response. Heavy equipment, blasting and efforts to widen the opening are continuing simultaneously, Shah said.
Rescue operations are also continuing at the Upper Trishuli 3B hydropower project in Nuwakot. A joint team from the Bhairabnath Battalion and Nepal Electricity Authority is working at the site, with Chinese specialists assisting the Nepal Army.
At the Chilime Hydropower Project in Rasuwa, an Indian rescue team has conducted reconnaissance and brought pumps and excavators to assist with the operation in coordination with the Nepal Army.
Similar efforts are underway at the Langtang Khola Hydropower Project, where the Nepal Army has been conducting search and rescue patrols. An Indian team has also carried out reconnaissance and begun work with pumps and excavators.
At the Mailung Khola Hydropower Project in Rasuwa, a Korean specialist team has started operations after conducting aerial reconnaissance in coordination with the Nepal Army, Shah said.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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