KATHMANDU: As many as 557 employees and workers involved in the 216-MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project remain unaccounted for following the Bhotekoshi River flood on Bhadra 10.
Nepal Water and Energy Development Company Pvt. Ltd., the project’s promoter, issued a statement on Wednesday saying 385 workers of PowerChina, a subcontractor responsible for the project’s main civil construction works, are still missing.
Similarly, 94 workers of Andritz Hydro, the electromechanical and hydromechanical subcontractor, remain unaccounted for. The company said 15 of its own employees, seven from consultant Z Consult, and 56 workers associated with the main construction contractor Doosan are also missing.
The company suspects that around 115 of those reported missing may be trapped in the headworks area and inside the main tunnel.
A total of 876 people have so far been rescued from the project site, according to the company.
The project was under construction in the Haku area of Aamachhodingmo Rural Municipality-1 and Uttargaya Rural Municipality-1 in Rasuwa district. It had been targeted for completion by Shrawan 2084 BS.
The flood swept away the nearly completed dam and other headworks structures, as well as the project’s office and residential areas, the company said.
Although an early warning had been issued before the flood, the massive volume of water and debris entered the project site within a very short period, leaving most employees and workers unable to reach safer locations.
A total of 1,433 personnel were working at the project site when the disaster occurred. They included 27 personnel from the promoter company, 20 from consultants Tractebel and Z Consult, 78 from main contractor Doosan, 1,069 from civil works subcontractor PowerChina, and 239 from electromechanical subcontractor Andritz Hydro.
The company said search and rescue efforts have been extremely challenging due to the difficult terrain, extensive flood damage, risks inside the tunnel, the possibility of further landslides and adverse weather conditions.
Search and rescue operations are continuing, according to the company.
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