Home Minister says state will not back down from Bhotekoshi rescue efforts

KATHMANDU: Home Minister Sudan Gurung has said the government is making every possible effort to rescue people believed to be trapped inside hydropower project tunnels following the Bhotekoshi flood.

Speaking at a press conference organised at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority on Tuesday, Gurung said rescue efforts were continuing and the government had not given up hope.

“We are continuing our efforts and have not lost hope. We have identified the upper section of the tunnel and are continuing search and rescue efforts. The state will not back away from its responsibility,” Gurung said.

He said all available security and rescue mechanisms had been mobilised to search for people who remain unaccounted for following the flood.

Providing details of the rescue operation, Gurung said difficult terrain and muddy conditions had hampered efforts at the Trishuli-3A area, where even an excavator became submerged.

“Security agencies are working with full force. There was a swamp when teams went to search at Trishuli-3A, and even an excavator sank,” he said. “We have now managed to reach the crown of the tunnel and are exploring whether we can excavate from above the powerhouse.”

Gurung also rejected claims that the government was unwilling to seek foreign assistance for the rescue operations.

He said drones had been deployed inside several tunnels and that efforts to rescue people from underground structures were still underway.

“The rescue effort inside the tunnels is continuing, and there is still hope,” Gurung said, adding that there was a possibility that people trapped inside could still be surviving by using water available in the tunnels.

The home minister said available resources and equipment were being used to their fullest capacity for search, rescue and relief operations following the disaster.

He also said an early-warning SMS had been sent to residents in flood-affected areas at 9:15 a.m., after which security personnel used loudspeakers to warn people in riverside areas to move to safer locations.