TLDR
Nepal Army excavators are cutting through flood debris blocking the Upper Trishuli tunnel system, where close to 300 workers including Chinese nationals remain trapped four days after a glacial lake burst. More than 250 workers have already been pulled out. The wider disaster has killed over 800 people across Nepal and Tibet, with more than 3,000 still missing.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Army cuts into blocked tunnels
Nepal Army excavators and dozers are boring through heavy debris blocking the intake portals of the Upper Trishuli tunnel system, four days after floodwaters trapped close to 300 workers inside.[1] Rescue teams are pushing to force open a 10-kilometre underground corridor sealed by the surge, with army units running continuous operations at the site.
More than 250 workers have already been pulled from the Upper Trishuli-1 tunnel area, with almost 300 still believed to be cut off inside, according to Giriraj Adhikari, CEO of Nepal Water and Energy Development Company.[2] Adhikari said the trapped group includes Chinese nationals.
"Three audit tunnels are there in 10-km-long tunnel," Adhikari said. "A team of workers including Chinese nationals is trapped there. We are waiting for their rescue."[2]
Who is inside and where
The Upper Trishuli system runs through Rasuwa district in northern Nepal, close to the Tibetan border. Workers are distributed across three access shafts within the 10-kilometre headrace tunnel, complicating extraction as debris continues to block the main portal.
A Nepal Army helicopter reached the Upper Trishuli-3A project site in the immediate aftermath of the flood, acting on direct orders from Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha.[3] "We must adopt all necessary measures to resume rescue and electricity service as soon as possible and to advance the work at a rapid pace," Shrestha said.[3]
How the flood hit
A massive flash flood tore through the Bhote Koshi River at 8:40 AM on 26 August 2026, striking Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Gorkha districts and severely damaging hydropower facilities across the region.[4] A glacier-fed lake in Tibet burst, sending a debris-laden surge down the river valley that submerged roads, bridges and hydropower intakes within minutes, cutting off workers before evacuation was possible.
Nepal has rapidly expanded run-of-river hydropower in Himalayan valleys to exploit steep river gradients. Underground headrace tunnels cut through fragile rock and glacial moraine, leaving intake portals exposed when disaster-driven debris enters at volume.
The wider toll
By 5:00 PM NST on 26 August, 72 bodies had been recovered and 403 people from 25 countries were reported missing, among them 341 foreign nationals.[5] The overall death toll across Nepal and Tibet has since passed 800, with more than 3,000 people still unaccounted for.
More than a dozen Australians remain missing as multinational rescue teams concentrate on isolated hydropower sites. Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed workers from at least 25 countries were among those swept up in the disaster.[5]
Army excavation at the Upper Trishuli tunnel intake is continuing as of 30 August, with no confirmed extraction timeline announced by rescue command.
SOURCES & CITATIONS
- Nepal Army rescue operations at Upper Trishuli tunnel site
- Giriraj Adhikari statement on trapped workers, Radio Nepal Online
- Army team reaches Upper Trishuli-3A project, Online Khabar
- Nepal Ministry of Home Affairs flash flood situation report
- Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs latest updates on flash floods 26 August
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How many workers are trapped in the Nepal hydropower tunnels?
What caused the flash floods in Nepal?
Are any Australians among those missing?
How is the rescue operation being conducted?
Caleb Reed covers breaking news and sport. He works to the rhythm of a story as it unfolds, and he is happiest when the facts arrive faster than anyone can spin them.
