Nepal floods: Visuals show six trapped inside tunnel as rescue teams race to reach them

Several people remain trapped inside tunnels in Nepal following the devastating flash floods, with rescue teams working to reach those stranded. Fresh visuals from one such site in Rasuwa show the challenging conditions inside a tunnel where at least six people are believed to be trapped.

Rasuwa and neighbouring Nuwakot have several tunnels linked to hydropower projects. At least 934 people were reported missing in the region on Thursday night, of whom 361 had been rescued by the time of reporting.

The two districts have 11 hydropower projects, including five still under construction. Since individual projects can have multiple tunnels, authorities fear the actual number of people stranded underground could be higher. Survivors who spoke to Hindustan Times said those trapped include nationals of Nepal, India, China, South Korea and Germany.

What do the visuals show?

The video shows the inside of a roughly 250-metre-long tunnel where at least six people remain trapped. Rescuers had advanced about 130 metres into the tunnel when the visuals were recorded.

One rescuer can be seen standing inside the dark passage, using a torch to navigate the way forward. Water appears to be seeping through the tunnel walls, creating what looks like a curtain of rain inside.

Other images and videos show rescue teams attempting to make their way through the flooded tunnels and navigating the difficult terrain around the hydropower sites.

India sends tunnelling experts

India has dispatched a team of tunnelling experts to Nepal to assist with rescue operations, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.

The move comes as the Nepal government has said its security agencies are capable of handling the rescue effort and has reportedly declined some offers of foreign assistance.

Jaishankar said the possibility of people being trapped inside tunnels at hydropower projects prompted India to send specialists. He also said 85 Indians had been rescued in Nepal on Friday, while 315 remained out of contact.

India has offered Kathmandu a range of assistance, which Nepal is evaluating, Jaishankar said. New Delhi is also sending rapidly deployable bridges along with a team to help restore connectivity.

“There may be some medical teams also going out there. If they require NDRF people to go, we will send them,” Jaishankar said, adding that two aircraft carrying relief material had already been sent and a third was scheduled to follow.

Nepal flood death toll

At least 626 people have been confirmed dead following the disaster, while 2,426 remain unaccounted for, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said on X.

The missing include hundreds of foreign nationals from countries including India, Malaysia, Australia and the United States, as search-and-rescue operations continue across the flood-hit areas.