Nepal Floods: Rescuers Hear Voices Inside Trishuli 3A Tunnel, Raising Hopes For Trapped Workers

Voices have been heard from inside a tunnel at Nepal’s Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station, raising hopes that some trapped workers may still be alive more than a week after the August 26 flash floods. At least 40 people remain unaccounted for at Trishuli-3A, while more than 900 workers are missing from at least six hydropower plants across the country.

The fate of the workers trapped inside the tunnel has remained uncertain since the floods hit Nepal’s Rasuwa district, one of the worst affected by the flash floods. Families across hydropower sites have been waiting for answers as rescue teams search waterlogged tunnels and underground facilities.

Rescue Efforts Intensify

In a Facebook post on Friday, Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane, an engineer who has been part of the rescue effort from the start, said more than one voice had been heard from inside the tunnel according to India Today. “Information has been received from the rescue team that the voices of people have been heard from inside. When the rescue team said, ‘Don’t panic, we are rescuing you,’ a response was received from inside,” he said.

Neupane said teams from the Nepali Army and Armed Police Force were intensifying their efforts and entering the tunnel as part of the rescue operation. “Receiving information that people are speaking from inside the tunnel is a promising sign,” he said, expressing hope that those trapped would be rescued safely. He also thanked the Nepali Army, Armed Police, technical teams and other rescuers involved in the operation, saying he hoped “good news of a safe rescue” would emerge soon.

Adverse weather and ruined infrastructure slowed search teams. Despite difficult underground access, Nepali Army and Armed Police Force personnel accelerated operations to reach the tunnel. Rescuers deployed earthmovers and specialised gear to clear thick silt and rubble choking the subterranean corridors.

Grim Discovery Elsewhere

Tragic news emerged from another site. At the 20-MW Rasuwa Langtang Khola Hydropower Project, Nepal Army personnel retrieved two bodies after penetrating 150 metres into the conduit. Rescuers are still struggling to reach 41 workers who remain missing at the plant, leaving families anxious for updates.

For families waiting outside, every development has brought a mix of hope and fear. Relatives of workers trapped at Trishuli 3A have been moving between government offices and Army Headquarters, desperately seeking information about their loved ones. Some have also travelled towards the affected sites as rescue operations continue.

The wife of an engineer trapped inside the project said several days had passed with little meaningful progress, but the family was still holding on to hope that the workers would survive. As of Friday, Nepal’s death toll stood at 1,259, while 5,053 people remained unaccounted for.

Wider Response Grows

To breach flooded tunnels and underground powerhouses at affected sites, including Upper Trishuli-3A and Rasuwagadhi, Nepalese authorities sought specialised international tunnel-rescue engineering teams from India and China. They also sought assistance from South Korea and the United States.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah and his cabinet contributed one month’s salary to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund. Specific compensation amounts or separate safety inquiry mandates for families of the missing and trapped hydropower workers have not yet been officially detailed.