Nepali tunnel rescuers face an extraordinary challenge. More than 5,500 people are missing
Hundreds of hydroelectric plant workers are among the missing. The rescue of three people from deep within the tunnels has raised hopes of finding more survivors.
Monday, 7 September 2026 08:42
Australian rescue expert Arnold Dix said on September 7 that rescue operations in Himalayan hydroelectric tunnels following the Nepal floods are facing an unprecedented challenge.
It is currently known that at least 1,385 people died in two countries and more than 5,500 people remain missing, reported The Hindu. Multiple search operations are underway simultaneously.
Among the missing are hundreds of hydroelectric plant workers. Arnold Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, wrote on social media: "We are facing something I have never faced before," According to him, this is not a single rescue effort but "multiple potential rescues" in different locations, each with its own hazards.
A national day of mourning was held in Nepal on Monday according to traditional Hindu rituals, but rescue operations continued. Nepal Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet said work is proceeding "with the same tempo we had on day one," According to him, "Our focus is on search and rescue at three levels — on ground, by air, and in the tunnels. We are making sure that no one is still stranded,"
Hope of finding more survivors was bolstered by the rescue of three workers from deep within the tunnels. Two Nepalese workers were brought out on Friday and one Chinese man on Saturday. Nepalese teams are being assisted by foreign experts from China, India, and South Korea, as well as Dix. He was one of the key advisors during the 2023 Silkyara tunnel rescue operation in Uttarakhand, India, when 41 men were trapped in a collapsed tunnel for 17 days.
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