A Nepal Army-led team deployed to rescue around 25 people believed to be trapped inside the tunnel of the 20-megawatt Langtang Khola Hydropower Project in Rasuwa has withdrawn from the site.
The team returned after encountering large boulders inside the tunnel and determining that additional equipment and technical arrangements were needed to continue the rescue operation.
The hydropower company has said that it will now deploy its own technical team to continue the rescue work.
According to the project’s managing director, Bijay Mohan Bhattarai, although the rescue operation began in the morning, the team was able to advance only around 100 meters into the tunnel.
Rescuers need to reach about 150 meters inside the tunnel, but large boulders along the route made the rescue work difficult, he said. According to him, special equipment or additional technical arrangements are needed to remove the boulders.
“The rescue work began this morning, but the operation has not yet been completed. Of the roughly 150 meters of tunnel we need to enter, we have been able to advance only about 100 meters. We have encountered large boulders inside,” Bhattarai said.
He said that the Nepal Army-led rescue team had withdrawn for the time being because of the difficulties posed by the boulders.
According to Bhattarai, a team of around 18 to 19 technical personnel from the Nepal and Indian armies had been involved in Monday’s rescue operation.
After the army team’s withdrawal, the company plans to send its own technical team into the tunnel from Tuesday to continue the rescue effort.
“They have stepped back for now, saying they cannot continue at this stage. We will deploy our own technical teams and resume the work from tomorrow,” Bhattarai said.
He said that the search operation could take another one or two days. However, the Nepal Army-led team would be called in again for assistance during the final stage of the operation, he added.
