Nepal flash floods: Six bodies found as hydropower tunnel search continues

Six bodies were recovered on Friday from a tunnel at a hydropower project in Nepal’s Nuwakot district as rescue teams continued searching for people missing after the devastating Bhotekoshi flash floods that struck the country last month.

The bodies were found inside the Audit-3 tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project by a joint team of security personnel, according to the Nepal Army. Officials said the remains were trapped in steel reinforcement mesh installed for concrete work. Rescuers used grinders, gas cutters and rotary equipment to recover them.

The search operation remains underway, with teams suspecting that additional bodies could be buried beneath mud inside the tunnel. A joint team, including foreign technicians, had earlier entered around 400 metres into the project's main access tunnel to search for missing workers.

The August 26 flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border, caused widespread destruction across northern and central Nepal. As of Thursday, at least 1,410 people had been killed and 6,145 remained missing, while more than 13,756 people had been rescued from affected areas.

Search operations are also continuing at several other hydropower projects, including Rasuwagadhi, Rasuwa Bhotekoshi, Langtang, Trishuli-3A and Upper Trishuli-3B.

At the Chilime hydropower project, five bodies were recovered from a tunnel on Wednesday after Indian and Nepali rescue teams cleared large quantities of mud and slush to reach the underground powerhouse. No survivors were found there.

Meanwhile, road connectivity between Kathmandu and Hetauda improved on Friday, with regular two-way traffic restored on the Tribhuvan and Kanti highways, according to Makawanpur officials.

The development followed the reopening of the Krishnabhir section of the Prithvi Highway in Dhading district, which had been blocked after the road collapsed during the August 26 floods.

The Tribhuvan Highway links Hetauda with Kathmandu through Palung and Naubise, while the Kanti Highway connects the two cities through Tikabhairav and Lalitpur. A temporary traffic arrangement introduced on September 1 had directed goods carriers and heavy vehicles to use the Tribhuvan Highway towards Kathmandu and the Kanti Highway on their return journey.

With the Krishnabhir section now operational, both highways have resumed normal two-way traffic.

with inputs from PTI