Kathmandu, August 31, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
An Indian tunnel rescue team has stepped up search and rescue operations for people trapped inside hydropower project tunnels in flood-hit Nepal, working alongside the Nepal Army in areas affected by last week’s devastating flooding in the Bhote Koshi River.
The Indian Embassy in Nepal said on Monday that its tunnel rescue team worked with the Nepal Army to conduct search and rescue operations at hydropower tunnel sites in the Chilime and Langtang areas.
The embassy said the Indian team would continue operations in close coordination with Nepali authorities.
According to the Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN), 897 people working at 11 hydropower projects in flood-affected Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts remain out of contact.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said seven Indian nationals and 15 Chinese nationals trapped at hydropower projects were rescued on Sunday.
Indian and Chinese tunnel technicians were deployed to Nepal at the request of the Nepali government to assist in evacuating people trapped inside the tunnels.
Nepal’s Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said the Indian rescue team carried out an initial aerial reconnaissance of the Chilime and Langtang areas by helicopter and would undertake further operations as required.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah said on Facebook that the Indian team conducted reconnaissance at the 22-MW Chilime Hydropower Project in Rasuwa in coordination with the Nepal Army. The team also took pumps and excavators to the site and began rescue efforts.
However, IPPAN said rescue operations at Chilime were halted on Sunday after another flood swept away structures in the dam area that had survived the earlier flooding.
At the Langtang Khola Hydropower Project in Rasuwa, the Nepal Army conducted search-and-rescue patrols, Shah said. He added that the Indian team had also conducted reconnaissance in coordination with the Nepal Army and started additional work after bringing pumps and excavators to the project site.
The joint rescue effort is continuing as authorities work to locate hundreds of people still unaccounted for at hydropower facilities in the flood-affected districts.
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