Indian rescue team reaches Nepal for Trishuli hydropower tunnel operations

An 11-member Indian team of medical personnel and tunnel-rescue specialists arrived in Nepal on Saturday to provide specialised technical assistance for efforts to rescue workers trapped or unaccounted for inside hydropower project tunnels after devastating flash floods.

The team was sent at the request of the Nepal government. After carrying out an aerial reconnaissance of the Chilime and Langtang areas, it reached the Trishuli area and began assessing the situation for rescue operations, according to Nepalese authorities.

Meanwhile, an 82-member joint security team of Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police personnel has been working since Friday night to clear debris and reach people believed to be trapped inside a tunnel at the Trishuli-3A Hydropower Project in Rasuwa near the Nepal-Tibet border. Rescue efforts have been complicated by mud and debris blocking the tunnel entrance and by adverse weather conditions.