Nepal is facing a desperate race against time after the death toll from devastating floods and mudslides along its border with Tibet climbed beyond 1,000.
The country’s disaster authorities say more than 3,900 people are still missing, including more than 600 workers believed to be trapped inside tunnels serving hydropower projects along the Trishuli River.
Rescue teams are working around the clock to reach those who may still be alive beneath tonnes of mud and debris.
Engineers have been pumping air into the underground passages in an effort to keep conditions survivable for anyone trapped inside. A rescue team managed to enter one of the tunnels on Monday but was forced to withdraw after finding no workers.
Families Wait for News
For relatives of the missing workers, every hour brings greater anxiety.
Anushila Bhandari, whose 33-year-old husband Aurus Bhandari was working as an engineer at one of the affected sites, is among those desperately waiting for information.
“I wish we could find him. I wish he would come home,” she told BBC Nepali.
Another family member, Sita Pandey, said she was still holding on to hope because oxygen equipment was available inside the facility where her husband was working when the disaster struck.
The families have also raised concerns about the speed of the rescue operation, saying precious time may have been lost before emergency measures were put in place.
International Rescue Effort
Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah said 279 people had been rescued from the affected sites.
The operation involves Nepalese and Chinese military personnel, supported by specialists from India, South Korea and Australia.
Rescuers have faced enormous challenges, including unstable terrain, blocked tunnels and large quantities of mud and debris.
In some locations, the Nepal Army has resorted to using explosives to break through sections of hillside in an attempt to create access routes to the underground facilities.
Hydropower Industry Hit Hard
The disaster has also inflicted serious damage on Nepal’s important hydropower sector.
Nepal depends heavily on electricity generated from its mountainous river systems and has invested extensively in hydropower projects across the country.
Authorities say at least 11 hydropower projects, either operating or under construction, were damaged by the floods.
The projects employ hundreds of people, including local workers, migrant labourers, engineers and other specialists. Many of them were caught underground when the floodwaters and mudslides struck.
Climate Risks Add to the Concern
Prime Minister Shah described the disaster as an extraordinary event and said rescue operations had been intensified.
He also linked the scale of the destruction to increasing risks in the Himalayan region.
The disaster has renewed concerns about the vulnerability of mountain communities and major infrastructure projects to extreme weather events, flooding and landslides.
For the families waiting outside the tunnels, however, the immediate concern is much more personal.
They are waiting for rescuers to bring their loved ones home.
With hundreds still believed to be underground, the rescue teams face a critical battle against time, mud and increasingly difficult conditions.
