Forty workers trapped 3.5km inside the 216MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project miraculously survived
TRISHULI BAZAAR: Forty workers trapped 3.5km inside the 216MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project miraculously survived the Aug 26 flood after a vehicle swept in by the torrent got wedged near the tunnel mouth and blocked the worst of the mud and debris from rushing inside.
“If the vehicle had not got stuck in the tunnel, our entire tunnel would have filled with mud,” Neupane said. Neupane said several workers remained in shock even after reaching safety. “When they asked for my details, I could remember my name, but I could not recall my phone number or company card number properly,” he said.
What they did not know then was that a vehicle carried by the flood had been pushed into the tunnel and lodged near its entrance. The jeep acted as an accidental barrier, slowing the flow of debris deeper inside. Nepal army personnel later moved the group to an army camp in Nuwakot.