Race to reach nearly 900 workers trapped at Nepal power plants

Nearly 900 workers are feared trapped in tunnel systems at hydropower plants devastated by last week’s flash floods in Nepal, as rescue teams race to reach them five days after the disaster.

Some 897 workers at 12 hydropower projects hit by the floods remain unreachable, a representative of Nepal’s Independent Power Producers’ Association told dpa on Monday. The actual number could be significantly higher.

“So far, only a few workers have been rescued,” the representative said.

The confirmed death toll from Wednesday’s floods has meanwhile risen to 903 in Nepal, disaster management authorities said on Monday, bringing the combined death toll in Nepal and China to at least 919.

Another 4,247 people are missing in Nepal, including 592 foreigners, while 546 remain unaccounted for in China.

The affected hydropower facilities, which were either operational or under construction, are located in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts of Bagmati province, which borders Tibet and where entire villages were destroyed by the floods.

At the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project in Rasuwa alone, 576 workers remain missing.

Nepalese authorities are working with specialist teams from India and China, while tunnel rescue experts are also being sent from South Korea, according to the Foreign Ministry in Kathmandu.

The complex rescue operations have been hampered by rising water levels and bad weather.

Five days after the disaster, relatives of the missing are becoming increasingly desperate.

Laxman Gurung told dpa that there was still no trace of his father, who worked as a driver at a facility in Rasuwa.

“We think he is trapped in one of the tunnels,” Gurung said, adding that he had contacted numerous offices seeking help but little had happened.

Mass burials spark controversy

The first victims of the floods are being buried in mass graves in Nepal as authorities struggle to identify and store the growing number of bodies recovered from the disaster.

The decision has sparked controversy in the predominantly Hindu country, where the dead are traditionally cremated. Some relatives of the missing and other critics have questioned whether authorities began the burials too quickly and without sufficient regard for Hindu funeral rites.

Many of the bodies were swept dozens or even hundreds of kilometres downstream and were recovered badly decomposed or mutilated, making visual identification difficult. Mortuaries in some affected areas have reached capacity, while hot and humid conditions have accelerated decomposition.

Authorities said photographs, DNA samples and other identifying information were being collected before burial so that relatives could later establish the identity of victims.

“Our absolute priority is returning every victim to their families,” the officer said. “But where visual identification is impossible and remains have begun to decompose rapidly, we must secure DNA profiles and proceed with dignified burial.”

Concern for children

Aid organizations have also raised concerns about conditions facing survivors, with many families sheltering in overcrowded emergency accommodation in the disaster zone.

“There are too few places to sleep, it is hot and stuffy, and hygiene conditions are poor,” Save the Children said. Food, drinking water and medical care are also in short supply.

The organization warned that poor sanitation and overcrowding could allow diseases to spread rapidly.

Many survivors are also being moved between shelters at short notice, adding to the strain on children already affected by the disaster.