Nepal rushes to save over 100 workers trapped in tunnel as China halts Tibet rescue
Nepal's army is using helicopters to rescue more than 100 workers trapped in a hydropower tunnel after devastating floods hit the Nepal-Tibet border area, while Chinese authorities have paused rescue work over fears of renewed flooding.
Nepali army helicopters continued working on Friday to rescue more than 100 people trapped inside a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli hydropower project in Rasuwa district. The prime minister's office said 350 workers and local residents had already been pulled from the site.
Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP that two helicopters had been deployed, but rescuers were struggling with difficult conditions, including trouble locating the tunnel's entrances. He said relief supplies were also being delivered to survivors.
The rescue effort follows a glacial collapse two days earlier that sent a massive flow of ice, rock and debris down river valleys near Nepal's border with China's Tibet region. According to the US Geological Survey, the debris and floodwaters travelled nearly 100 kilometres along the Trishuli and Bhote Koshi rivers, destroying buildings and infrastructure and severing a key highway linking Nepal and China. The full extent of the damage was still becoming clear on Friday, with roads, bridges and several hydropower facilities reported damaged or destroyed.
Survivors described the floodwaters hitting worksites with sudden, extraordinary force. One worker evacuated from another hydropower site said around 400 people had been working there and that more had died than were rescued. Another worker said he survived only because he happened to be inside a tunnel when the flood hit, while colleagues working outside were swept away.
China suspends Tibet operation
Across the border, Chinese authorities suspended rescue operations in Tibet on Friday amid fears of further flooding, with hundreds of people still unaccounted for since Wednesday's disaster. State broadcaster CCTV reported that a lake formed by huge piles of mud and debris near the border town of Gyirong had begun overflowing toward areas where rescue teams were working. Crews were ordered to stand by, and those already in the area were told to withdraw a kilometre.
Nepal issued a warning urging people to move to higher ground after reports that a dam on the Tibetan side had burst again. Police called on all rescue personnel and the public involved in relief efforts to stay alert and move to safety immediately. CCTV said 499 Chinese nationals and 555 foreigners had been evacuated from the disaster zone by Friday.
