Six bodies have been recovered from the Sallettar area of Nepal's 216 MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project after floods damaged tunnels and headworks, while hundreds remain missing across several hydropower sites. Rescue teams are now using sniffer dogs, drones, cameras and heavy machinery in increasingly difficult conditions.
The Discovery
The recovery of six bodies on Friday marked a grim development in the continuing search for workers missing after severe flooding damaged several hydropower projects in Nepal.
The bodies were discovered in the Sallettar area during searches focused on people believed to be missing inside tunnels and headworks at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project. The Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN), said trained sniffer dogs assisted the search.
The Nepal Army transported the recovered bodies to Battar.
The scale of the emergency at Upper Trishuli-1 remains substantial. Before the flooding, 1,433 people were working at the project site. So far, 876 people have been rescued, while 551 remain missing.
The rescue operation is being expanded. A Korean rescue team, Sherpas, specialist search teams and drone operators are participating, while special cameras and trained dogs have also been brought to the area.
The project has supplied 15 rescue machines and pieces of equipment, with operations expected to intensify from Saturday. Water continues to be pumped from inside the tunnel as rescuers work to gain access to areas affected by the flood.
What Archaeologists Found
The situation is not archaeological; the source material concerns an ongoing disaster response at several hydropower construction sites in Nepal.
At Upper Trishuli-1, the immediate challenge is locating workers believed to have been trapped inside tunnels and other project infrastructure. The developer and construction companies, Doosan and PowerChina, have reportedly sought assistance from the Home Secretary to facilitate transportation of additional rescue equipment and machinery.
At the 111 MW Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project, rescue operations could not begin on Friday because equipment could not be transported to the site.
A team of Sherpas reached the area to assist with searching, but high river levels and adverse weather prevented heavy machinery from being moved forward. Equipment transported from Trishuli has reached Dhunche, although it has not yet been taken to the project site.
The Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Company is preparing to establish a camp at the higher-altitude area around the project's surge tank so that rescue personnel can remain closer to the site from Saturday. Ninety-three people are reported missing there.
Historical Background
The flood emergency extends across several hydropower projects in the Trishuli region, with rescue teams confronting damaged infrastructure, rising rivers and difficult weather.
At the 37 MW Upper Trishuli 3 'B' Hydropower Project, there had still been no information about the missing people 10 days after the flooding.
Excavation using small machinery has reached the stream near the powerhouse. Search teams excavated to a depth of two metres below the surface level of the Trishuli River without locating any part of the powerhouse structure. Preparations are now being made to excavate as deep as 12 metres.
Security personnel also searched from the project's surge tank towards the penstock but found nothing.
A total of 191 people are reported missing from Upper Trishuli 3 'B'. They include 141 employees of Phewa Construction, 21 employees of the project's developer, Trishuli Jal Vidyut Company, seven family members of employees, 12 employees of consultant Chilime Engineering, one security guard and three engineering students undertaking internships from Kathmandu University.
Twenty-three people working inside the tunnel managed to escape safely.
What do you think should be the priority as rescuers face rising water, unstable conditions and limited access to heavy machinery? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Scientific Analysis
At this stage, the central challenge is operational rather than scientific: rescuers must establish access to flooded and damaged underground infrastructure while determining where missing workers may be located.
At Upper Trishuli 3 'B', excavation is being expanded after initial digging failed to locate the powerhouse structure. The proposed depth of up to 12 metres reflects the difficulty created by flooding and the altered terrain around the Trishuli River.
At Upper Trishuli-1, pumping water from inside the tunnel remains part of the continuing operation. Special cameras and trained dogs are being used alongside drones and rescue teams to search areas that cannot easily be reached by conventional methods.
The response at the different sites is also being shaped by geography. At Rasuwagadhi, equipment has reached Dhunche but cannot yet be moved the remaining distance to the project, prompting plans for a higher-altitude rescue camp.
The source material does not provide technical findings establishing the precise causes of the infrastructure damage or the locations of individual missing workers. Those details will depend on the continuing rescue and assessment operations.
Why This Discovery Matters
The scale of the missing-person crisis makes the hydropower sites a major and continuing rescue emergency.
At Upper Trishuli-1 alone, 551 people remain missing according to the project figures supplied. Rasuwagadhi has reported another 93 missing, while Upper Trishuli 3 'B' has reported 191.
Elsewhere, two people trapped inside the powerhouse of the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project were rescued on Friday morning after 216 hours of continuous efforts. Sanjay Shah of Koiladi-8, Saptari, and Kabir Maharjan of Kathmandu were brought to safety, with the Nepal Electricity Authority confirming that searches for others were continuing.
The 20 MW Langtang Khola Hydropower Project has also suffered major losses. Two bodies were found on Thursday among 41 people initially reported missing. Nineteen people have been rescued, two have been found dead and the status of 39 people remains unknown according to the figures supplied.
Other projects remain affected.
Six people are trapped inside the underground powerhouse of the Chilime Hydropower Project. Seven workers at the Mailung Khola Hydropower Project have still not been contacted, while four people remain missing from the under-construction Rasuwabhotekoshi Hydropower Project.
What's Next?
Rescue operations are expected to intensify as additional machinery, specialist teams and equipment reach the affected locations.
At Upper Trishuli-1, pumping, drone surveillance, specialist cameras, sniffer dogs and rescue machinery will continue to be used. At Rasuwagadhi, establishing a camp near the surge tank could allow rescue personnel to remain closer to the affected area despite difficult travel conditions.
At Upper Trishuli 3 'B', rescuers are preparing for deeper excavation after the initial two-metre search failed to locate the powerhouse structure.
Weather and river conditions remain critical constraints. Continuous rainfall and rising water levels are making it difficult to move heavy machinery, particularly to remote project sites.
The Nepal Army, Sherpas, Korean rescuers, search teams, drone operators and project personnel are continuing to work across the affected locations.
The recovery of six bodies at Upper Trishuli-1 provides some confirmation of the scale of the disaster, but the priority remains locating those who are still missing and determining whether further survivors can be reached.
Conclusion
The flood damage across Nepal's hydropower projects has created a complex rescue operation involving flooded tunnels, damaged powerhouses, unstable access routes and rapidly changing river conditions.
Six bodies have now been recovered at Upper Trishuli-1, while hundreds remain unaccounted for across several projects. The rescue of two workers after 216 hours demonstrates that survival remains possible even after prolonged entrapment.
With specialist teams, dogs, drones, cameras, pumps and heavy machinery being deployed, the coming days will be crucial. The immediate objective is clear: reach the missing workers, recover those who have died and establish what happened inside the damaged hydropower infrastructure.
FAQ
How many bodies were recovered at Upper Trishuli-1?
Six bodies were recovered from the Sallettar area during searches for people missing inside the project's tunnels and headworks. The Nepal Army transported the bodies to Battar.
How many people are still missing at Upper Trishuli-1?
The project reported that 1,433 people had been working at the site before the flood. Of these, 876 have been rescued and 551 remain missing.
Were any workers rescued after being trapped for several days?
Yes. Two people trapped inside the powerhouse of Upper Trishuli 3A were rescued after 216 hours of continuous rescue efforts on Friday morning.
Which other hydropower projects are affected?
The source reports missing or trapped people at Rasuwagadhi, Upper Trishuli 3 'B', Langtang Khola, Chilime, Mailung Khola and Rasuwabhotekoshi, in addition to Upper Trishuli-1 and Upper Trishuli 3A.
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Six bodies have been recovered from Nepal's Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project as rescue teams continue searching flooded tunnels and headworks.
Hundreds remain missing across several hydropower projects, while rescuers are battling rising rivers, heavy rain and difficult access routes.
Two workers were also rescued after spending 216 hours trapped inside a powerhouse.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing rescuers now — reaching the tunnels, transporting heavy machinery, or dealing with the rising water?
