Flood-swept vehicle plugs tunnel mouth, saves 40 workers

TRISHULI BAZAAR: Forty workers trapped 3.5km inside the 216MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project miraculously survived the Aug 26 flood after a vehicle swept in by the torrent got wedged near the tunnel mouth and blocked the worst of the mud and debris from rushing inside.With no siren, no initial walkie-talkie alert and no contact with those outside, they waited nearly 45 minutes before making their way out through sludge and water in a two-and-a-half-hour ordeal.Leelanath Neupane, 53, was working deep inside the tunnel when pieces of wood and muddy water began flowing towards the workers. "We had no idea it was floodwater. There was no information through the emergency siren or the walkie-talkie," he said.The 40 workers moved to higher sections and held on to the gantry structure as the mud rose. Neupane used an iron rod to check its depth before they attempted to move. In places, the rod sank 1.5 metres."We first had to understand whether there was any way to get out," Neupane told TOI.What they did not know then was that a vehicle carried by the flood had been pushed into the tunnel and lodged near its entrance. The jeep acted as an accidental barrier, slowing the flow of debris deeper inside. "If the vehicle had not got stuck in the tunnel, our entire tunnel would have filled with mud," Neupane said.A message finally came over the walkie-talkie, warning that a massive flood had struck outside and asking workers to stay put unless they could safely make their way out. The group decided to move. "We had no option," Neupane said. "We held each other and pulled one another through. At some places we crawled, and at others we walked through the mud and water."The men took nearly two-and-a-half hours to reach the tunnel mouth. What they saw outside left many of them disoriented. "What I saw was beyond anything I had imagined. My body and mind stopped working," Neupane said.Nepal army personnel later moved the group to an army camp in Nuwakot. Neupane said several workers remained in shock even after reaching safety. "When they asked for my details, I could remember my name, but I could not recall my phone number or company card number properly," he said.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.