Nepal Army team at the Rasuwagadhi Hydropower tunnel

From Onlinekhabar English

Nepal Army team at the Rasuwagadhi Hydropower tunnel. Kathmandu, August 31 The Nepal Army says it found no one inside the tunnel of the 111MW Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project, but three employees who were on duty inside when the Bhotekoshi flood struck remain unaccounted for. The Nepal Army, project engineers and a drone team searched the tunnel up to its far end after concerns that people could have been trapped inside. The team said it found no human presence and returned to Dhunche after completing the search. But the whereabouts of three employees who were reportedly on duty inside the tunnel when the flood struck remain unknown. The apparent discrepancy has raised questions about what happened to the three workers and whether the search inside the tunnel was sufficient. According to a project official, three employees were on duty inside the tunnel when the flood hit. The power plant was operating at the time, with employees working in two shifts—from 7am to 7pm and from 7pm to 7am. “The plant was running. The night-shift employees went there at 7pm and were on duty until 7am,” the official said.