On the 31st, the sixth day after massive flooding swept the Himalayan mountain region on the Nepal-China border (local time), Nepalese authorities were speeding up efforts to rescue more than 900 people believed to be trapped in hydropower plant tunnels and elsewhere.
The Nepal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said at least 933 workers were believed to be trapped inside tunnels at about six local hydropower plants hit by the flooding. Rescue authorities were focusing their capabilities on entering the tunnels, centering on the Trishuli 3A and 3B hydropower plants in Bagmati Province in central Nepal, the affected area.
At the Trishuli 3A plant, rescue teams succeeded the previous day in accessing the interior by drilling four holes in the upper part of the tunnel. Work is underway to determine the locations and survival status of those trapped inside the tunnel.
Raja Ram Basnet, Spokesperson for the Nepal Army, told Reuters, "We are having great difficulty opening the tunnel because an enormous amount of debris has piled up," adding, "the most important objective right now is to open the tunnel."
Searches were also continuing at the plant where the missing Koreans worked. According to the Nepal Army, one body was found on the day in the tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant, where nine missing Koreans worked.
The Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant is under construction by Korea South-East Power Co. (KOEN) and Doosan Enerbility. Doosan Enerbility sent one helicopter to the site on the day to search the airspace over the office building where the missing Koreans had stayed and the upper weir dam area.
A Chinese tunnel specialist rescue team deployed to Nepal's rescue operations advanced about 300 meters into the tunnel during a search and found a body. However, the nationality and identity of the body have not yet been confirmed. An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "We are checking the relevant information through the local mission."
The human toll from the flooding continues to grow. According to the Nepal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, as of the day, at least 903 people had died and 4,247 were missing in Nepal. Among the missing, 592 were foreigners.
Adding the 16 deaths and 546 missing in the Tibet Autonomous Region tallied by Chinese authorities brings the total to at least 919 dead and 4,793 missing. Among the missing counted by China, 261 were foreigners.