Rescuers Battle Waist Deep Mud Inside Flooded Tunnel After Deadly Disaster Strikes Nepal

Nepal Army rescuers are shown wading and crawling through the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower tunnel after flash floods struck the area on August 26, 2026.

Wearing orange and white helmets, the rescuers push through knee- to waist-deep sludge beneath an arched rock ceiling.

Headlamps and a small drone with green lights illuminate the debris as the teams pull on lines, sink into the mud and continue farther into the tunnel.

The 216 MW Upper Trishuli-1 project was the worst-hit site, with hundreds of workers going missing and many believed still underground.

Army teams had already brought hundreds of people out of the wider project area. Later entries reached roughly 160–300 metres before the passage was blocked by mud. At least one body was recovered there.

Joint Nepal and foreign rescue teams were still working at the site as of September 1, 2026.