By The South Asia Times

KATHMANDU -  The death toll from last week’s devastating flash floods and mudslides in Nepal has risen to 1,114, while 3,916 people remain missing and nearly 12,000 have been rescued, as search teams continue to struggle to reach people believed to be trapped inside underground hydropower facilities.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said Wednesday that 11,993 people had been rescued from flood-affected areas, while 292 people were injured. More than 21,000 security personnel from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have been deployed for search-and-rescue operations.

The disaster struck on Aug. 26 after a massive ice-and-rock avalanche in the Himalayas triggered a surge of water, mud and debris that swept through communities along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems near Nepal’s border with China. The flooding devastated settlements, roads, bridges and hydropower infrastructure and cut off several remote areas.

The latest figures have raised concerns that the number of casualties could continue to increase as rescuers gain access to areas that remain buried under mud and debris.

- Workers feared trapped underground

One of the biggest challenges facing rescuers is reaching workers and employees believed to be trapped inside underground powerhouses and tunnels at several hydropower projects, according to Kathmandu Post.

At the 60-megawatt Upper Trishuli-3A Hydropower Project, about 40 to 50 people, including Nepal Electricity Authority technicians, engineers and specialists from other projects, are believed to be trapped inside the underground powerhouse. Rescue teams have been drilling through tunnels and using excavators in an effort to reach the facility.

At the 216-megawatt Upper Trishuli-1 project, more than 550 people remain unaccounted for despite 254 people being rescued from around the project area.

The Independent Power Producers’ Association of Nepal has reported hundreds of people missing from several hydropower projects, although authorities have not yet determined how many are trapped underground and how many were swept away by the floods.

Families of missing workers have accused authorities and project operators of moving too slowly and have demanded that specialist teams and heavy equipment be deployed more rapidly.

At Upper Trishuli-1, the project’s managing director said Nepali Army personnel, Chinese specialists and Sherpas were searching the site, while a specially trained search-and-sniffer dog team was also deployed.

Rescue officials said tunnels are heavily clogged with mud and debris, making excavation difficult, but stressed that workers could still be alive if they have access to air and water inside the underground facilities.

At the 37-megawatt Upper Trishuli-3B project, 191 people are unaccounted for, while at the 111-megawatt Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project, 93 people remain missing and rescuers have entered part of the tunnel but have yet to reach the underground powerhouse.

Another 41 people are feared trapped at the 20-megawatt Langtang Khola Hydropower Project, while eight workers are feared trapped at the 22-megawatt Chilime Hydropower Company project.

Technical teams from Nepal, China, India and South Korea are participating in rescue operations at different hydropower sites.

- China's Tibet also hit by disaster

The catastrophe also caused heavy destruction on the Chinese side of the border in Tibet.

Chinese authorities have reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing in Tibet, including foreign tourists and visitors, bringing the combined reported death toll in Nepal and China to 1,130, with 4,462 people missing.

A key access road near Gyirong Port, which was badly damaged by the flooding, has been restored, allowing China to deploy heavy rescue equipment and additional personnel to the disaster zone. The reopening is expected to improve access to areas that have remained difficult to reach since the floods.

The disaster has also affected the important Nepal-China trade and pilgrimage corridor around Gyirong, while several settlements and infrastructure facilities on the Tibetan side suffered extensive damage.

The floods originated in the mountainous region along the Nepal-China border, with officials and researchers linking the initial surge to an ice-and-rock avalanche or glacier-related collapse in the Himalayas.

A week after the disaster, hopes of finding survivors in many areas are fading, but rescuers continue to concentrate on underground hydropower tunnels where trapped workers could potentially have survived with access to air, water and shelter.

International assistance has also expanded, with teams from China, India and the United States contributing to rescue efforts, while Nepal continues to use its army, police and specialized technical teams in the search.

The scale of the disaster has made it one of Nepal’s worst recent natural catastrophes, with authorities still working to identify recovered bodies and establish the whereabouts of thousands of missing people.