International News: Hundreds feared trapped in Nepal hydropower tunnels as flood deaths top 950

By Zoila Palma: Rescue teams in Nepal are racing to reach hundreds of workers feared trapped inside hydropower tunnels after catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-China border. The disaster has killed more than 950 people across Nepal and China, while thousands remain missing.

A power producers’ association said about 900 workers are unaccounted for at 12 hydropower projects in Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, with around 500 believed to be trapped inside tunnels buried by mud.

Four bodies have so far been recovered from three mud-filled tunnels as rescuers continue digging through the debris, AP reports.

Nepal’s disaster agency reported 939 deaths and 3,925 people missing, including 592 foreigners, while Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 missing.

The flooding also left families desperately searching for relatives, including a group of 49 Indian travelers who went missing after floodwaters swept through a border immigration complex.

The floods began last Wednesday following what scientists believe was a glacial collapse in the Himalayas, sending rocks and large volumes of water into rivers below.

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