Kathmandu, September 8
Search efforts for people missing after the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli floods have intensified at the 37MW Upper Trishuli-3 B hydroelectric project following the arrival of three big bulldozers and a backhoe.
Of the 191 people working on the project who disappeared due to the August 26 flood, 13 employees of the construction company Fewa Construction have been accounted for, leaving 178 people still missing. Efforts to locate them continued Monday.
According to the Independent Power Producers Association, Nepal (IPPAN), small excavators had previously been used to excavate the residential and office areas of the project. However, the search could not make the expected progress because larger heavy machinery could not be transported to the site.
After several days of efforts to clear the project’s audit and main tunnels, it was possible to transport three large excavators to the flood-affected area containing the project’s office and residential facilities. Two of the excavators had earlier been used in search and rescue operations at the Upper Trishuli-3 A project, while the third was organized by the project developer.
Search crews are now using large excavators and backhoes to remove mud, large rocks and mounds of soil deposited by the flood and excavate the buried areas. The developer, Trishuli Hydropower Company, said it expects to determine the actual status of the buried office and residential areas by Tuesday.
Chief Minister Balendra Shah also said on social media that search operations were continuing at the project site. According to him, efforts to locate the missing persons began on August 26. A Chinese team conducted a reconnaissance of the project site on August 29, but search teams could not be transported there due to the muddy terrain.
Prime Minister Shah said that project employees and a team from the Nepal Army are currently continuing the search. The team entered the audit tunnel 1.7 kilometers from its entrance after clearing mud and debris. During the operation, they found a vehicle inside the tunnel.
Six residential buildings and one office building in the project have been buried by the flood. Chief Minister Shah said the excavation has already reached a depth of up to 15 meters in an effort to locate the buried structures.
Efforts continue to transport additional equipment to the project site. The search has been difficult because of mud, large rocks and soil deposited by the flood, but authorities hope the arrival of heavy machinery will provide more information about the buried structures and the people who remain missing.
