# Nepal Floods: 40 Trapped in Trishuli-3A Hydropower Station for 6 Days, Families Question Rescue Pace

> Forty Nepal Electricity Authority employees have been trapped inside the Trishuli-3A Hydropower Station in Rasuwa for six days following flash floods. An engineer's wife has criticized government rescue efforts, citing a lack of heavy equipment at the site.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Asia · **Published:** 2026-09-02 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/asia/nepal-barha-rasuwa-ke-trishuli-3a-haidropavara-men-6-dinon-se-phnse-40-karmachari-rahata-abhiyana-para-parijanon-ne-uthae-savala-26204 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** Nepal Floods, Trishuli 3A Hydropower, Rasuwa Flash Flood, Nepal Electricity Authority, Rescue Operation, Nepal Government

Nearly a week after devastating flash floods battered Nepal, the situation in affected disaster zones remains precarious as search and rescue operations face intense scrutiny. At the Trishuli-3A Hydropower Station located in Rasuwa district, the whereabouts of trapped personnel remain unknown. In a poignant plea, the wife of an engineer trapped inside the complex raised serious concerns over the effectiveness of the government rescue measures. She highlighted that 40 officials and workers belonging to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) have been stranded inside the facility for six consecutive days without any tangible rescue progress on the ground.

## 40 NEA Employees Trapped Inside Trishuli-3A as Families Face Agonizing Wait
According to the account provided by the trapped engineer's wife, 40 Nepal Electricity Authority employees, including her husband, remain trapped inside the Trishuli-3A Hydropower Station. With six days having elapsed since the catastrophic flooding occurred, relatives have received no official updates regarding the physical condition or survival status of those inside the subterranean complex. Families continue to hold onto hope, largely because the Trishuli-3A facility is regarded as one of the most structurally secure power projects in the nation.

The prolonged absence of information has forced desperate family members to navigate administrative corridors in search of answers. The engineer's wife recounted spending entire days outside the Army Headquarters in Kathmandu, while her brother traveled directly to the field site in Rasuwa to assess ground conditions. Reflecting on their plight, she remarked, "Trishuli-3A is considered one of the safest power projects, and it is on this hope alone that we are wandering around." Despite their continuous efforts between various government departments, the families state that no concrete results or assurances have materialized.

## Discrepancy Between High-Level Announcements and Ground Reality
Addressing public statements regarding external assistance, the trapped engineer's wife pointed out a glaring gap between official claims and actual field deployment. Media reports and government updates have repeatedly cited the arrival of rescue specialists from China and India, along with coordinated efforts supervised by top cabinet officials. However, she asserted that ground realities tell a completely different story, noting that not a single heavy excavator or earthmoving machine has reached the site.

Family members questioned why necessary heavy machinery, such as heavy excavators and specialized tunnel cutters, failed to reach the facility even after six to seven days had passed. They pointed out that authorities had assessed the high volume and density of flood debris as early as the second day of the disaster. While high-level visits by the Home Minister and Foreign Minister were publicized alongside reports of diplomatic coordination with Chinese officials, families contend that these high-profile actions have not translated into effective physical rescue maneuvers at the tunnel entrance.

## Slow Excavation Pace and Escalating Mental Trauma for Families
Official reporting indicating incremental clearance progress of 10 to 20 meters inside the tunnel has drawn sharp criticism from the affected families. The engineer's wife questioned whether clearing small stretches of debris represented a serious life-saving attempt or merely a slow bureaucratic procedure. She emphasized that the ongoing operation directly impacts the lives of 40 individual workers and the emotional well-being of their 40 respective families, who are enduring unprecedented psychological distress.

The prolonged uncertainty has taken a severe toll on the emotional and physical health of the victims' relatives. Several family members have suffered extreme emotional breakdowns and required hospitalization due to acute stress. Many affected families remain in such a state of shock that they are unable to articulate their anguish publicly. Describing her own ordeal of traveling continuously between the Army Headquarters and Singha Durbar, the engineer's wife expressed profound despair over the lack of rapid, life-saving intervention.

## Demands for Urgent Action to Save Public Sector Workers
Families emphasized that the trapped Nepal Electricity Authority personnel were present at the Trishuli-3A project on official state duty rather than for personal reasons. Consequently, they argue that the state bears an absolute responsibility to deploy all available technical resources and emergency equipment to guarantee their safety and extraction.

The relatives expressed deep grief over having to plead publicly through the media for the safety of public sector workers performing national service. As every passing hour increases the danger for those inside the hydro station, families are appealing for immediate intervention. They demand the urgent mobilization of heavy excavation machinery and specialized rescue tools to clear the obstruction and extract all 40 trapped employees safely.

## What this means for you
The severe flooding in Nepal and delayed rescue operations at the hydropower station have significant implications for energy stability, infrastructure resilience, and public safety.

- **Across Nepal:** The shutdown of a major hydropower facility like Trishuli-3A risks creating severe electricity shortages in the national grid. This power deficit could hamper post-disaster recovery efforts across affected districts.
- **In Rasuwa:** Disrupted transport and communication links continue to isolate local communities and delay emergency supply distribution. Thousands of residents face prolonged hardship without access to essential utilities.
- **Impact on Public Sector Workers:** The incident exposes gaps in emergency safety protocols for personnel deployed at national infrastructure projects. It is likely to force policy reviews regarding occupational safety during natural disasters.
- **Disaster Response Strategy:** Delays in deploying heavy machinery like excavators and tunnel cutters highlight critical logistical bottlenecks. Authorities will need to decentralize rescue equipment storage for faster crisis response.

## Questions & Answers

### 1. How many employees are trapped inside the Trishuli-3A Hydropower Station?
Forty Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) officers and workers have been trapped inside the station for six consecutive days.

### 2. In which district of Nepal is the Trishuli-3A station located?
The Trishuli-3A Hydropower Station is located in Rasuwa district, which was recently hit by severe flash floods.

### 3. What allegations did the trapped engineer's wife make regarding rescue efforts?
She stated that despite official claims of foreign teams arriving, not a single excavator or heavy machine has actually reached the site to clear the tunnel.

### 4. What are the immediate demands of the trapped workers' families?
Families are demanding the immediate deployment of heavy earthmoving machinery and tunnel cutters to accelerate physical rescue operations.

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