Nepal toll 955; 4471 missing even as tunnel searchers push deeper

At least 955 people were dead in flash floods and 4,471 missing across Nepal and Tibet by Monday evening — 639 of Nepal’s 3,925 missing people being linked to hydropower projects.Nepal Army spokesperson Brig Gen Rajaram Basnet told TOI a rescue team entered Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project tunnel, where 14 people had been feared trapped. “The team, equipped with searchlights and drones, reached the end of the 250m-deep tunnel. However, they failed to find any trace of any person after much effort and finally returned.”At Chilime hydel, another joint team comprising foreign experts entered around 100m before encountering a section buried under mud and silt. One of the most difficult operations was at Trishuli-3A, where a controlled blast was carried out to create an entry portal.With roads and bridges washed out, drone pilots are flying over debris, using thermal cameras to look for stranded people and bodies, and carrying relief material. Nepalese living abroad and global mapping volunteers, meanwhile, are pitching in by scanning satellite imagery to help map the flood zone.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.