Two weeks after devastating floods triggered by a glacial collapse, rescuers in Nepal are still hoping to find people trapped alive in hydropower project tunnels. The search for the missing continued Wednesday.
The tsunami-like surge of water, mud and debris that suddenly swept down from the China-Nepal border on Aug. 26 has so far killed more than 1,401 people, with 5,845 still missing.
Nepal Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet told AFP, “Search and rescue operations are underway in the tunnels of the Trishuli 3A, 3B and Chilime hydropower projects.”
According to Nepal’s disaster management authority, 1,358 bodies have been recovered in the country so far, with 5,326 more people still missing.
According to Chinese state media, 43 people died and 519 remain missing in China as a result of the disaster.
Hundreds of foreign nationals are among the missing, along with several hundred workers from the hydropower projects.
Rescuers have so far managed to pull three people out alive from deep within the tunnels. Two Nepali nationals were rescued Friday, and a Chinese national was rescued Saturday.