Nepal teams seek hundreds trapped in hydropower tunnels after deadly floods

Following a devastating Himalayan flood last week, Nepalese rescue teams, aided by Chinese and Indian experts, are working to reach hundreds of people trapped in blocked hydropower project tunnels. The deluge, attributed to a glacier collapse on the Nepal-Tibet border, has killed nearly 800 people, with over 3,000 still missing, including 933 from hydropower projects. Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah described it as an "unprecedented and devastating natural disaster," noting that a "large amount of debris has been deposited, and that is posing us a big challenge to opening the tunnels." Rescue efforts face challenges from adverse weather and difficult terrain, with concerns about a lake formed by the disaster potentially causing new flooding. China has linked the flood to climate change and has mobilized significant resources for relief, while Nepal is utilizing the expertise of its neighbors for tunnel rescue.