RASUWA: Authorities have recovered 18 bodies from the tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project following flooding in the Bhote Koshi river. District Police Office Rasuwa chief, Deputy Superintendent of Police Ashok Thapa, confirmed that the bodies were retrieved during search and rescue operations on Friday.
Social expert for the project, Harka Tamang, stated that the bodies were found approximately 100 meters inside Audit-3, located near Daldug Khola, about 5.5 kilometers north of Mailung along the 9.8-kilometer-long tunnel. The search operation is being conducted by the Nepal Army alongside project staff. Six bodies were also recovered from the site on Thursday.
Police stated that the exact number of workers present inside the tunnel when the flood occurred remains unconfirmed. Identifying the recovered bodies has proven difficult as the construction company has not maintained comprehensive records of the workers deployed at the site. Search and rescue efforts continue at the 216-megawatt project, which suffered significant structural damage due to the flooding.
