900+ Workers Trapped in Nepal's Flooded Hydropower Tunnels — What We Know

One of the most harrowing parts of the Nepal flood disaster is only now becoming clear: when the flood wave tore down the Trishuli valley on 26 August, it didn't just destroy villages and roads — it swept into the underground access tunnels of several hydropower projects while workers were still inside. More than a week on, rescue teams are still crawling through mud and debris, metres underground, trying to reach people who may still be alive.

What Happened in the Tunnels

Nepal's hydropower projects along the Trishuli River rely on long access tunnels — some running several kilometres — that lead down to underground powerhouses. When the flood surge hit, it forced mud, boulders, and floodwater into these tunnels, in some cases trapping workers deep inside with no way out. According to reporting this week, as many as 900+ workers were believed to have been inside tunnels across 11 hydropower projects when the flood struck — though the exact figure has shifted slightly as rescue teams work through each site and account for survivors.

• →Upper Trishuli-1 — the access tunnel here runs nearly 10km; several hundred workers were reportedly inside when the flood hit
• →Trishuli 3A — dozens of workers were in the underground powerhouse, reached via a tunnel more than 4km long
• →Trishuli 3B and other nearby projects were also affected, though with fewer people reported trapped

The Rescue So Far

This is not a fast rescue. Teams have had to drill boreholes into the upper sections of mud-choked tunnels just to pump in air and lower food and a camera to check for survivors below, then physically crawl through boulder-blocked, mud-filled passages to reach people. Nepal's Prime Minister, Balendra Shah, said progress depends on the mud drying out enough to give rescuers stable footing — something that can't be rushed without risking further collapse.

• →At Upper Trishuli-1, at least 350 workers had been rescued from the tunnel as of 2–3 September, with around 100 more still trapped or unaccounted for inside
• →At Trishuli 3A, rescue teams have bored into the tunnel to pump air and lower supplies to workers believed to still be alive further inside
• →Nepal's Energy Minister, Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, has called the tunnel rescues the government's "highest priority"

International Help — Including from Australia

Tunnel rescue is a specialised skill, and Nepal has called in outside expertise. Engineers and search teams from India and China arrived over the weekend to assist the Nepal Army and Nepal Police. Notably for readers here, an Australian tunnel-rescue expert has also been asked to help at the hydropower sites — a reminder that this disaster response reaches well beyond Nepal's borders, including support from Australia.

How This Fits Into the Bigger Picture

Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority puts the nationwide toll at 1,114 confirmed dead and 3,916 missing as of its most recent update, including hundreds of foreign nationals from dozens of countries. The tunnel-trapped workers are a subset of that missing figure — and one of the few places left where rescuers still hold out real hope of finding people alive this long after the flood, rather than only recovering bodies.

How to Help

• →If you have family or friends who work in Nepal's hydropower sector, especially along the Trishuli corridor, try contacting their employer directly as well as the family — companies are maintaining their own lists of accounted-for and missing staff
• →Nepal Red Cross tracing service: 4270650 / 01-4270650
• →Nepal government disaster portal: bipad.gov.np, for incident and rescue updates by district
• →Wise, Remitly, or Western Union remain the fastest ways to send emergency money to affected families
• →IFRC's Emergency Appeal (via Nepal Red Cross) and UNICEF Nepal continue to fund the broader recovery response