Nepal floods: Expert on the search for trapped tunnel workers

Search and rescue efforts have not slowed down in Nepal, where the death toll has now surpassed the grim milestone of more than 1,100 dead, and there's likely much more heartbreak ahead. Nearly 4,000 people are still missing after mud and debris wiped out the area near the Nepalese border with China following catastrophic flooding on August 26th. Some of the missing are believed to be trapped inside massive tunnels that help control water for Nepal's hydropower plants. The challenge is that many of the tunnel systems are now overflowing with mud. In this video, shared by the Nepalese army, you can see the conditions the rescue crews are up against. Thick mud, near complete darkness. They're using every tool in the arsenal to try and reach hundreds of potential survivors in those tunnels, including drones, excavators, and even controlled demolitions. Even in the despair, there is hope. Today, a board member of the Nepal Electricity Authority told Reuters that despite being trapped for a week, they're confident some workers are actually still alive who have access to food and water. Events like this can bring the world together, and in this case, tunnel experts from India, South Korea, and China have all gathered in Nepal to help with this monumental search and rescue operation. We have our own tunnel expert right here to help us understand what this might be going on. Leon Jacobs has spent his career working in the tunneling and underground construction industry. Leon, welcome to the show. So there are nearly a thousand workers missing. At least 500 are believed to be trapped inside these tunnels. What are the chances they're still alive after seven days? I think that the likelihood is very good based upon the environmental conditions because the tunnels are so large that there's, you know, a fair amount of air down there. The question, of course, becomes what do they have for food and water? You know, reading some of the articles, you know, some of the locations, they had provisions, you know, within the tunnel that were active, that were working, but as time marches on, air quality of air always becomes a concern, and then water becomes a concern. Yeah, you need air, obviously, to survive, and some of these tunnels, according to people on the scene, are filled with mud, quote, like toothpaste in a tube. It's packed in. How do we know there's enough air getting past a lot of this mud, and how do these workers get past it and remove it? Well, that's a twofold question, right? You know, the question, of course, is air passing through the mud, and depending upon the volume of mud that came in and how far it went into the tunnel, the potential is that the mud has blocked the tunnel, right, in terms of air. If they can't get out, it's clearly, there's a reason. You can't get out and you can't get in, so I'd say that the tunnel, you know, the mud is blocking the tunnel entranceway, but because you've got the volume of air, because of the size of the tunnels, and you don't have the equipment running consuming the air, it's just the human beings that are down there consuming the air, the volume of air, you know, should sustain life for a fair period of time, but the concern is getting to them and being able to get them the other nourishments they need, the water and the food, and the other challenge is just locating them. Right. When you look at the environment, you know, there's a good picture there. Getting equipment in to be able to move the mud or to be able to drill down new holes to the tunnel to provide air is all problematic, you know, in terms of the accessibility. And we've been told that that slow-moving muddy sludge that you're seeing is literally almost like working in quicksand. These tunnels, we should remind our viewers, are big enough to drive trucks into and out of. What kind of equipment, very in order to deal with that kind of sludge, that quicksand-like mud? You need the excavators that you see there to, you know, get in and try and clear the openings, but the same token is one of the challenges, locating where the individuals are underground. If they know where the individuals are, then they can bring in some drills and drill new holes, you know, 12-inch diameter holes to provide the air and the water and supply food down to them until permanent, you know, equipment can come in or better equipment can come in. But, you know, the other challenge is locating where they are underground that you know where to focus your efforts. That's a tremendous challenge as well. They have got a lot they're up against. Leon Jacobs, thank you so much for sharing your expertise. Thank you for watching. Subscribe below and download our News Nation app right now on your phone and you will get fact-based, unbiased news for all Americans.