A glacier collapse on August 26 triggered devastating floods across Nepal and China, killing more than 1,200 people and leaving over 5,000 missing. The disaster has caused human suffering on an unfathomable scale, particularly in Nepal's worst-hit districts.
Hundreds of workers remain missing from hydropower projects along the Bhote Koshi and Triushuli rivers. Local authorities report that around 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels. At the Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant on the Nepal-Tibet border, about 46 people are believed to be trapped in a room-like structure inside a tunnel. Despite the time elapsed, authorities have stated they are confident that dozens of these workers are still alive.
Rescue teams continue to race to find those trapped beneath mud and debris. On Friday, nine days after the floods, rescuers successfully pulled two workers alive from a hydropower tunnel. Officials described the rescue as a miracle as emergency teams maintain their efforts to reach the hundreds of others still missing in the remote Himalayan region.