At Upper Trishuli-3A, soldiers have located the crown of a buried tunnel and are widening a small opening so rescuers carrying oxygen can enter in search of trapped workers.
BY PC Bureau
August 31: Rescue teams battling mud, floodwaters and shattered roads are racing against time to reach hundreds of people still missing from hydropower projects along Nepal’s Trishuli corridor, five days after a devastating flash flood swept through the region.
The search has now focused on the Upper Trishuli-3A hydropower project, where soldiers located the crown of a buried tunnel and began widening a small opening to allow rescuers equipped with oxygen to enter.
Nepal’s disaster management authority, NDRRMA, said 933 hydropower workers remained unaccounted for. The Independent Power Producers’ Association Nepal, however, put the number of missing employees at 537 across nine hydropower projects, underscoring the uncertainty surrounding the toll as authorities continue to reconcile multiple lists.
By Sunday, the confirmed death toll from the disaster had risen to 810, including 794 deaths in Nepal and 16 in Tibet. A total of 3,048 people remained missing on both sides of the border, according to figures from Nepal and China. NDRRMA reported 2,502 missing in Nepal, while Chinese authorities put the number missing in Tibet at 546.
Nepal also reported that 592 foreign nationals remained unaccounted for, along with 127 Nepalese travelling with foreign groups.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said 149 Indian nationals had been rescued in Nepal by Sunday evening. A Saturday-night update had listed 275 Indian citizens as missing and another 128 people of Indian origin as uncontactable. No confirmed figure for Indian deaths had been released by Sunday evening.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the situation remained fluid, with authorities still working to reconcile several lists of missing and rescued people.
Improved weather conditions gave rescue teams some relief at the nine affected hydropower projects. With roads to Upper Trishuli-3A still severed, the Nepal Army airlifted excavators and other heavy machinery to the site. Crews continued working through the night.
Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Rajaram Basnet said specialists had located the tunnel crown and created an opening measuring about 2 by 3 feet. They found a water-filled area extending roughly seven metres inside. One specialist entered the opening but found no immediate signs of life. Rescuers were widening the passage so larger teams could enter with oxygen equipment.
Around 8,500 army personnel had been deployed across the main disaster zones by Sunday evening.
At Upper Trishuli-1, around 300 workers were initially believed to have been trapped. Of these, 254 had been rescued, while the search for the remaining workers continued. At Upper Trishuli-3B, 91 of 122 previously missing workers had been located, leaving 31 still unaccounted for.
Nepal has intensified rescue efforts to free hundreds of people trapped inside tunnels at hydropower projects, including the Trishuli-3A site, following Wednesday’s flash floods.
Rescuers, including experts from India and China, are trying to make contact with those inside the… pic.twitter.com/RNnhAGzKrE
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) August 31, 2026
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Nearly 20,000 security personnel were involved in the wider search, scouring riverbanks, devastated settlements and tunnels filled with mud and debris. Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai said Nepal’s immediate priority was to save lives, locate those missing and assist both Nepalese and foreign survivors.
The disaster has also complicated efforts to establish the number of missing Indians. Chinese authorities said 261 foreigners from 23 countries were among the 546 people reported missing in Gyirong in Tibet. The list included 49 Indians, 104 Nepalese, 33 Latvians, 18 Americans and 15 Britons, besides six each from Canada and Australia.
It remained unclear whether the 49 Indians listed by Chinese authorities were already included in India’s figure of 275 missing citizens.
The MEA said 598 Indians had crossed safely from China into Nepal over two days, while around 900 Indians still in China were safe and in contact with authorities.
India has expanded its relief effort, sending four flights carrying 68.5 tonnes of supplies, a 13-member Army tunnel-rescue team, six forensic teams and equipment to help construct several Bailey bridges. Indian missions in Beijing and Kathmandu have remained in contact with Chinese and Nepalese authorities as rescue and evacuation operations continue.
