Hundreds of tunnel workers are at risk as rescue crews intensify operations in Rasuwa, Nepal. Teams are clearing mud and rock, using digging and controlled blasting to try to reach workers believed trapped inside hydropower tunnels.
Journalist Jessica Washington secured exclusive access to the site and accompanied rescue crews during the search, documenting the technical and physical challenges on the mountain. The operation centres on underground passages linked to a hydropower project, where efforts to cut through collapsed material have continued amid difficult terrain.
Crews are working with heavy machinery and blasting techniques to create passages through heavily compacted debris. The ground conditions and the volume of material over the tunnel runs have made progress slow, and teams are prioritising methods intended to reach those inside while limiting further instability.
Local and technical responders are sustaining round-the-clock activity, and the search has become more intensive since the collapse. Access to the site remained tightly controlled during the reporting, with Washington travelling alongside those conducting the excavation and clearance work.
The situation remains urgent. Rescue teams will continue blasting and excavation as the primary means to gain entry to the tunnels and establish contact with the workers believed inside. The next phase of the response depends on how quickly crews can open safe corridors and assess conditions within the underground passages.
