Nepal Floods | 2 Rescued Alive From Hydropower Tunnel 9 Days After Nepal Floods

Unbelievable. I was at the Trishuli 3A site just three days back. We landed over there and at that stage there were no signs whatsoever of the rescuers of the Nepali army having reached through to anybody over there. But in the last 24 hours or so, there was news coming in that they'd heard voices from inside. They were persistent with this, desperate in trying to get to any survivors, digging through tons and tons of debris, using excavators over there. Heaven knows how they managed to get those excavators into that area. And now the breakthrough, the big news that a lot of people have been waiting for. Just think about the families of the two men who have been rescued and pulled out of that Trishuli 3A tunnel. The tunnel itself, a relatively small one, completely covered by mud and debris. And as I mentioned, they were digging away. There were seismological experts over there. There were geotech experts over there who were working through the mud, trying to get people out. And today there's that huge breakthrough which really begs the question, are there more survivors inside in the Trishuli 3A and 3B sites? The Trishuli 3A and 3B sites, the rescue tunnels are right next to each other. These are run off the river projects, hydropower projects in the Trishuli river basin. And there are many such projects where rescuers are involved, including Indian rescuers. But this was an operation which, as I understand it, was led by the Nepali army entirely and Nepali rescuers. And this is very welcome news. Indeed, let us hope and pray that there are more people inside this tunnel because there are subterranean networks in these power plants located deep inside the valleys. So that's what the rescuers would need to try and find out. Many are calling this a miracle. It is a sliver of hope considering the rescue and relief efforts have carried on round the clock, as Vishnu Shrom has been covering. Vishnu, we're given to understand that rescue teams on the ground have also said that more voices have floated from deep within the tunnel. Any word on that yet? Well, I think they've already spoken to some of the two survivors. And I think it's on the basis of what the survivors say on whether there are any others inside that tunnel, that they would get a better idea of what the situation is. But if two people have survived, and you know, I mean, their condition seemed to be, I mean, I'm sure they'd be quite sick and things like that. But they seemed okay. I mean, one would only hope that there are others inside who are also okay enough to be pulled out. Again, I don't know the layout of the tunnels inside. I don't know if there were rooms inside which, you know, had been blocked out to prevent, you know, the avalanche and the water getting in, the mud getting in. But they just happened to desilt and demud and remove the mud from the entire area to try and make access. When I saw the video a few minutes back, I noticed that not, it wasn't just one of these two men being pulled out. Both of them, of course, have been pulled out. But also, several members of the Nepali rescue forces were also emerging, which to me indicates that the entrance is now broad enough for them to have made sizable progress or decent progress deep into the tunnel of this power project, where they would be in a position to perhaps pull out more people. Vishnu, as far as the other rescue and relief efforts are concerned, we are given to understand it's a race against time. Take us through the districts that are particularly vulnerable even now. Well, all of the districts are vulnerable right now. It really depends on where these avalanches and floods take place. But I think the question that the answer that you're trying to get is about the number of relief operations going on. Now, there are more than 12 run-off-the-river projects which have been destroyed or damaged along the Bhotekoshi Tishuli River Valley. All of these have been damaged very badly in certain cases. Many of them have tunnels. And that's where these rescues are taking place in several of these power projects. Some of them are entirely under the mud or have been destroyed altogether. But there are these subterranean networks of tunnels in the river valley. And that's where including Indian rescuers are focusing their efforts. There's been a huge breakthrough in one of them, the Tishuli 3A project site. But no word at the moment on whether anything has happened in terms of a breakthrough in any of the other sites. But the fact that there's been a rescue over here is very welcome news. Indeed, it would certainly give a renewed sense of hope to others in the valley. Of course, we're also given to understand that over 900 workers still remain missing from at least six hydropower plants in Nepal, Vishnu. I'm not sure of the numbers because I've seen numbers saying 300. You're now mentioning 900. The numbers are in the hundreds. I would leave it over there. Nobody really has a very precise idea at this stage on just how many people will be at these sites. But I would venture a guess and suggest that more than a hundred spread across, perhaps more. So again, we need to find out and see whether rescues take place here or elsewhere. Fingers crossed for the moment. Right. While our fingers are crossed, we're also hearing of estimates of 30 to 40 people potentially still alive at Tishuli 3A, Vishnu. Any word on that yet? So Tishuli 3A is where this particular rescue has taken place with two people out. There is very initial information now coming out from the Nepal Army as well about the situation over here. If they manage to get these people out and there are indeed 35 other people who survive, then as I mentioned, it would be nothing short of a miracle. But remember, many of these tunnels would obviously have food stock. They are fairly elaborate. And therefore, the question in many of these sites, and this is what rescuers have hoped for from day one, is that it's the initial parts of the tunnels which have been blocked out and removing the mud and the silt and the debris is the key part. And then once they are able to do that, then access to other parts of the subterranean network of these power plants would be possible. That appears to have been the case over here at Tishuli 3A. But without knowing the exact lay of the land underneath, in these networks, in the tunnel networks below, we don't really know how far they need to get or how much they need to clear to get to these areas. Pashupat, the fact is that nine days have passed since the floods. You've mentioned the word miracle. Tell us, what are the authorities saying? What makes survival possible inside these tunnels for this length of time? So I think that's the key sort of issue, Parmeshwar. Nine days is a very long period of time. And obviously, they would need to have access to water. They would need to have access presumably to some food, some medical aid. They've been completely cut off from communications. It's only in the last 24 hours that there were sounds which were heard over here. And this breakthrough was made. What we need to figure out also is about the structure inside these tunnels. I mean, are they intact? Is it partly damaged? It could well be that some of the tunnels leading to the other tunnels are damaged. And therefore, access to other parts becomes very difficult or impossible. Therefore, carrying out repairs or to penetrate tunnels which may be damaged in order to get to the other tunnels would take a great deal of time. So one would only hope that the extent of damage inside the tunnels or the access points as they were, are limited. Because, you know, I mean, nine days now, two people have been pulled out. One can only hope that others are there. And yes, you know, it is a cliche, but I don't think it's a cliche on this occasion. I would call this a miracle. Of course it is. It's also a sliver of hope during this devastation. Vishal, make us understand what is physically stopping rescuers from reaching the people they believe are alive right now? Is it the deluge of mud, boulders, collapsed sections of the tunnel? All of that, Parameshwar. Essentially mud, which has entered mud. And you know, I mean, for the last one week we've been traveling in areas where the mud is so high, several stories high and so soft. And therefore, given the velocity, given the speed, the angle of the terrain over there, 50 degrees in many cases, there was this deluge coming in at more than 200 to 300 kilometers per hour. Rocks, mud, sand, boulders, water, all of it. And therefore all of these tunnels have been filled with all of this. To get that out requires a great deal of, you know, work from people digging, excavators digging, getting excavators into these points, and then carefully sort of working through tunnels to remove. It's not just mud, which is easier to remove, but also rocks and stones sort of mixed in with the mud over there and getting progressively harder. So, you know, all of that needs to come out before, you know, they get a better idea. I mean, they're able to penetrate to the depths of the networks of tunnels inside.