Nepal Rescuers Race to Reach Workers Trapped in Hydropower Tunnels

Rescuers in Nepal and China are battling severe weather, mud, and debris in a desperate race to reach hundreds of workers feared trapped in hydropower tunnels following catastrophic glacial floods that have killed more than 900 people and left nearly 4,500 missing. The disaster, triggered by an ice and rock collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, has devastated communities, destroyed infrastructure, and created an "unimaginable" humanitarian crisis.

The floods, described as a tsunami-like wave of freezing water, rocks, and mud, roared down from the Himalayas on August 27, killing at least 939 people in Nepal and Tibet, with 17 bodies also recovered downstream in India. The death toll in Nepal has surged past 900, with 4,247 people missing, including 933 from hydropower projects. In Tibet, Chinese authorities report 16 deaths and 546 missing. The Red Cross estimates more than 90,000 people have been affected.

The primary focus of rescue operations is reaching workers trapped in tunnels at about half a dozen hydropower sites. Specialist teams from India and China are assisting Nepalese forces, using earthmoving equipment and digging through sludge and debris. An Indian...