Rescue teams raced on Wednesday to reach dozens of workers believed to be trapped inside hydropower tunnels in Nepal's mountains, a week after a Himalayan flood killed more than 1,200 people.
Efforts have increasingly centred on hydroelectric project tunnels where authorities believe workers may have survived after being cut off by floodwaters and debris.
Some tunnels contain chambers with air supplies, and rescuers were trying to reach about 900 missing workers.
Major rescue operations were under way or planned at four hydropower projects. Two sites, where about 90 people are missing, offered the strongest prospect of finding survivors because of the presence of air inside the tunnels, Amshu Kiran Shahi, a board member of the Nepal Electricity Authority, told Reuters.
A managed blast was executed at the Trishuli-3A hydropower plant in Rasuwa district on Monday. Officials believe there was a dry chamber inside and expected oxygen to be flowing through the tunnel, with pipes also being used to push oxygen inside, Shahi said.
Rescuers were seen arriving by helicopter in the early hours on Tuesday as they launched an operation to rescue people feared trapped inside another tunnel at the Chilime hydropower plant.
Earlier, army personnel searched a tunnel at the Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant, but were unable to find anyone there.
Teams from India, China and South Korea are helping with rescue efforts, while neighbours India and China have led the foreign assistance, with the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, EU countries, and the UAE, also contributing.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah told parliament the search would continue.
"Our priority remains clear: To continue our search and rescue operations, find those who are still missing and continue supporting everyone affected," he said.
Shah has said the government is working to restore power, telecommunications and transport links, with 95% of telecom services in affected areas restored by Tuesday.
Last week's flood, triggered by the collapse of a glacier near Nepal's border with China, devastated towns and valleys across the mountainous region. At least 1,204 people have been confirmed dead and more than 4,200 remain missing. Across the border in Tibet, China raised its death toll to 21, with 541 others still listed as missing.
The disaster poses the biggest challenge yet to Shah’s six-month-old government.
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