KATHMANDU: Home Minister Sudan Gurung said the rescue team deployed to save people trapped inside the Trishuli 3A hydropower project tunnel has reached the upper section of the buried tunnel.
More than three dozen people have been missing since floods struck the project three days ago.
In a Facebook post, Gurung said the team has reached the tunnel’s crown, or uppermost section, and has started sending air through a small opening.
“We have started sending air through the small opening. We will now begin excavation and send the rescue team inside,” Gurung said.
A team of security personnel and technical experts has been clearing mud and debris from the flooded tunnel while using drilling equipment to open an access route.
Rescuers are also preparing to send oxygen and essential equipment through the opening as they continue efforts to clear the mud and create a passage into the tunnel.
