Drones Helped Find People After Nepal Floods but the Search Inside Hydropower Tunnels Is a Challenge
Thermal drones are helping search crews, but mud-filled tunnels and sharp bends are slowing efforts to find about 900 missing hydropower workers.
- Nepal Army rescue teams and filmmaker Manish Maharjan launched a search following last week's catastrophic flooding, operating thermal drones to locate at least 900 workers missing from 12 hydropower projects across Nepal and Tibet.
- The Aug. 26 flash floods resulted from a glacial collapse high in the Himalayan region; scientists reported the rockfall registered as a magnitude 5.2 seismic event, sending torrential water through valleys and damaging infrastructure across Nepal and China.
- Inside the tunnels, Maharjan found no signs of life, describing them as "filled with mud like toothpaste in a tube." While drones located stranded people in open areas, tunnel searches proved nearly impossible due to debris and difficult access.
- About 500 workers are believed trapped inside power plant tunnels; Mohan Kumar Dangi, president of the Independent Power Producers Association, said some initially called for help, though it remains unclear if rescuers have established contact since.
- Experts say the first 72 hours are critical for survival, as chances drop without access to clean water or breathable air. Rescuers face increasing difficulty locating missing individuals as time passes following the disaster.
33 Articles
33 Articles
The Washington Post
'No hollow or empty space': A drone operator reveals difficulties in Nepal's tunnel rescue efforts
‘No hollow or empty space’: A drone operator reveals difficulties in Nepal’s tunnel rescue efforts – WTOP News
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Filmmaker and drone pilot Manish Maharjan crossed into Nepal from China’s Tibet through Rasuwagadhi, a border crossing closest to where last week’s catastrophic flooding began, two days before the disaster. Returning home, little did he know he would be using his professional skills to help with rescue efforts along a route...
'No hollow or empty space': A drone operator reveals challen
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Filmmaker and drone pilot Manish Maharjan crossed into Nepal from China’s Tibet through Rasuwagadhi, a border crossing closest to where last week’s catastrophic flooding began, two days before the disaster. Returning home, little
The Toronto Star
‘No hollow or empty space’: A drone operator reveals difficulties in Nepal’s tunnel rescue efforts
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Filmmaker and drone pilot Manish Maharjan crossed into Nepal from China’s Tibet through Rasuwagadhi, a border crossing closest to where last week's catastrophic flooding began, two days before the disaster. Returning home, little did he know…
The Seattle Times
The Record‘No hollow or empty space’: A drone operator reveals challenges in Nepal’s tunnel rescue efforts
Two days before devastating floods swept through Nepal’s Himalayan region, a filmmaker and drone pilot returned from Tibet through the Rasuwagadhi border crossing, unaware that he would soon join a major rescue effort.
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