RASUWA, Sept 19: The bodies of 18 workers who had gone missing inside a tunnel following the devastating Bhotekoshi floods have been recovered.
During search and rescue operations, the bodies of 18 people were taken out of the tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydroelectric Project on Friday, said Ashok Thapa, Deputy Superintendent of Police at the District Police Office in Rasuwa.
Hark Tamang, social expert at Upper Trishuli-1, said the bodies were found inside the tunnel, about 100 meters into Audit-3, located northward, about 5.5 km from Mailung along the project’s 9.8-km-long tunnel.
Three new tunnel roads to be built next FY
Tamang said the Nepali Army and employees of the hydropower company were involved in the search and rescue operation.
Police chief Thapa said six workers’ bodies had been recovered from the area on Thursday. Additional bodies were found as the search and rescue operation continued.
Police said the exact number of workers who were inside the tunnel during the floods has yet to be established. The identification and verification of the recovered bodies are also yet to be completed, police said.
The search and rescue operation for workers trapped or missing in the tunnel had continued after the floods damaged structures under construction at the project site.
The 216-megawatt Upper Trishuli-1 is a major hydropower project under construction in Rasuwa.
The recovery of the bodies during the search for missing workers has plunged their relatives and people associated with the project into grief.
Police said identifying the bodies has been difficult because the construction company did not maintain exact records of workers, including their names.
