Nepal Army Searches For 93 Missing Workers Inside Flooded Tunnel

Video filmed by the Nepali Army shows soldiers searching inside a dark tunnel at the Rasuwagadhi hydropower project following a flash flood in Bhote Koshi on August 26.

The footage shows soldiers in camouflage and orange helmets using headlamps as they move through a wet rock passage. Cables hang from the tunnel roof, while one soldier carries a thick rope with a knot and weighted ends.

The team moves deeper into the tunnel, passing standing water and debris. Later, several rescuers are seen at the tunnel entrance, pointing into the black opening as another person works at the far end of the rope line.

Officials said 93 people from the 111-megawatt Rasuwagadhi hydropower project were unaccounted for. An army-led team involving engineers and drones searched an accessible section but found no people there.

A Nepal Electricity Authority official later said about 46 people might still be inside a chamber deeper in the works.

By September 2, army officers said the search at the Rasuwagadhi tunnel had been halted after technicians determined that the lower turbine area was filled with water and mud.