Nepal floods trap 93 workers in a tunnel. Thermal drone search draws a blank

A thermal-drone video shared by a Nepalese mountaineer has gone viral, showing a search inside the flood-hit Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project tunnel.Footage captured by Manish Maharjan’s drone shows the operation reaching the far end of the tunnel without finding any survivors or bodies.The Nepal Army-led rescue team entered the tunnel amid fears that workers might have been trapped inside after the Bhotekoshi River flooded the Rasuwa region.Nepal Army personnel, engineers and drone operators conducted an extensive search before confirming that the tunnel was empty. The operation was subsequently called off, and the team returned to Dhunche in Rasuwa district.The hydropower company had reported 93 people missing from the project. Their whereabouts remain unknown. SEARCH CONTINUES ACROSS OTHER TUNNELSThe Rasuwagadhi operation was part of a wider effort to trace 933 workers reported missing from 11 flood-hit hydropower projects in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts.Many are feared trapped inside tunnels blocked by mud, water and debris. Nepal’s rescue teams, assisted by specialists from India and China, are using controlled blasts, excavators and searchlights to clear access routes. Three bodies have been recovered from two tunnels, while several other sections remain buried under mud.Rescue efforts are focused on five hydropower projects, including the Upper Trishuli complex, where authorities said around 350 people could be trapped inside a tunnel.Around 10,000 Nepali troops have been deployed alongside specialist teams from India and China.The operations follow the August 26 flash flood, blamed on a glacial collapse, which has killed more than 900 people and left nearly 5,000 missing.- EndsPublished By: Aprameya RaoPublished On: Aug 31, 2026 19:37 IST