'Every second counts': Families of 933 workers await tunnel rescue
What's the story
Around 933 workers are feared to be trapped in around six hydropower projects in Nepal after devastating floods last week. The enormous deluge of ice, rock, mud, and debris on the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday, blamed on a glacier collapse, has killed over 900 people. "A large amount of debris has been deposited and that is posing...a big challenge to open the tunnels," Nepal army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet told Reuters, adding, "Our main focus is on opening the tunnels."
Rescue operation
Families of missing workers anxious
The families of the missing workers are growing increasingly anxious as rescue operations continue.
Sita Pandey, whose husband is believed to be trapped inside the Upper Trishuli 3A project, expressed her concern, saying, "I still have a 50 percent hope that he is alive because there is an oxygen system inside."
"But with every hour that passes, that hope becomes thinner," Pandey told the Nepali newspaper Kantipur.
International aid
China sends specialist rescuers to assist in rescue operations
The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) believes the workers might have access to oxygen and water inside the facility but conditions remain unknown.
In a bid to expedite rescue efforts, China on Saturday sent nine specialist tunnel rescuers at Kathmandu's request.
"It's frustratingly slow operation," Jiban Khadka of Pyuthan, whose relative is also believed to be trapped inside the plant.
"The longer it takes, the more our hope dies."
Rescue progress
Attempts to contact those inside the tunnels have been unsuccessful
On Sunday, the Nepali Army located the crown of the tunnel, allowing them to pump air into it. However, attempts to contact those inside have been unsuccessful.
According to Army spokesperson Rajaram Basnet, "After drilling through, we found water at a higher level inside a tunnel with a diameter of around 7 meters."
The Independent Power Producers' Association of Nepal estimates that the highest number of missing persons is at Upper Trishuli-1, with 576 people missing from a single project.
Infrastructure impact
Officials not very hopeful
The executive director of the Nepal Electricity Authority admitted that despite the efforts, they have not been able to establish contact with them.
"The flood has caused such extensive destruction that, in some places, we have not even been able to determine where the powerhouse or tunnel structures are," said Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha.
For families, however official explanations and technical assessments only worsen their anxiety.
"We can understand...the rescue operation is technically complex....But we cannot accept delays," said Khadka.