Nepal rescuers drill into tunnels in bid to reach trapped workers

Nepali army joins flood rescue efforts at hydroelectric facilities where workers are thought to be trapped in tunnels.Rescuers evacuate a person from a tunnel of a hydropower project, in the aftermath of flash floods and a mudslide, in Rasuwa, Nepal, in this still image from handout video released August 28, 2026 [PMO Nepal/Handout via Reuters]Published On 30 Aug 2026Nepali rescuers seeking to reach hydropower workers believed trapped in tunnels swamped by flood debris have resumed work after rain and rising river waters hampered efforts.Nepal’s government says more than 100 workers may still be alive and trapped inside multiple tunnels at hydropower projects, with key rescue efforts focused on the Trishuli 3A and 3B sites.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Chinese rescuers race to reach mudslide survivors in Nepal-China borderlist 2 of 3Anger mounts in Nepal over the government’s response to flash floodlist 3 of 3Isolated by raging floodwaters, Nepal’s miracle home amid the devastationend of listHuge flash floods triggered on Wednesday when part of a glacier collapsed near Nepal’s border with Tibet have left at least 750 people dead and more than 3,000 missing.Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority says there are 933 hydropower workers among the missing.At Trishuli 3A in Nepal’s Rasuwa District on Saturday evening, army rescue teams using drills broke through into the upper part of a mud-swamped tunnel and began pumping air as well as sending in a camera.But overnight rain and rising river waters hampered efforts early on Sunday, filling the excavation area with water before conditions eased.“As the floodwaters have receded, the team has resumed efforts to locate the tunnel entrance using drilling machines, excavators, hydraulic cutters and other equipment,” said a Nepal Army statement on Sunday.Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez, reporting from the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, said the government has requested specialist help from India and China to “fill gaps” in its rescue operations.“The government is trying to give it its best shot, bringing in these experts to see if there is any way or means of bringing out anyone who is still alive,” she said.The catastrophe on Wednesday was triggered when part of a glacier at roughly 5,200 metres high in the Himalayas collapsed, plunging about 1,200 metres and gathering rock and debris before slamming into the Lende River.The resulting surge swept south through Nepal’s Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts, at one point raising the Trishuli River by nine metres in 30 minutes. The US Geological Survey revised its initial finding of an earthquake trigger, concluding the seismic signal instead came from the landslide itself.A woman waits to identify her husband at a temporary holding centre in Bharatpur where the bodies of flash flood victims are being kept, August 30, 2026 [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington, reporting from Dhading, said the river had receded on Sunday, but the current remained strong.She said the floodwaters had destroyed many homes, leaving behind only the foundations. Those still standing are “in a state of complete disrepair,” she said.“Speaking to some residents, this [disaster] represents not only the destruction of their homes, but their livelihoods as well because many of the residents told us that they had small stores and small businesses in the bottom floors of their homes and all of their products – everything – has been completely washed away.”Nepal’s National Disaster Management Authority said on Sunday that 734 bodies had been recovered. The number of missing on the Nepalese side of the border is at least 2,498.Chinese authorities have reported that the death toll in Tibet has increased to 16, with 546 people missing. Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said 261 foreigners from 23 countries are among those unaccounted for.Countries pledge supportInternational aid has arrived from the United Nations, the Red Cross Federation, Australia, India, South Korea and the United States.The US and Canada said they would provide $3.6m each in humanitarian aid. The United Kingdom has offered $6.8m in aid, while the UN released $2.5m in emergency funding.On Friday, the European Union pledged $2.3m and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said it had allocated more than $1m and launched an emergency appeal for $31m.Al Jazeera’s Samer Allawi said authorities “have not yet moved to the second phase of relief operations, which includes humanitarian assistance and reopening roads”, because of “the rugged terrain and the lack of sufficient resources”.He said that Nepal’s finance minister estimated losses from the disaster at “more than $4bn”, while warnings remain in place over possible flooding along rivers in northern Nepal.