Rasuwa, Sept. 17: The bodies of five workers who were trapped at the Chilime Hydropower Centre have been identified and handed over to their respective family members, officials said Thursday.
The deceased have been identified as engineer Santosh Pandey, electrical supervisor Meenraj Moktan, security guards Shyam Bahadur Thapa Magar and Tilak Bahadur Thapa Magar, and Nepal Electricity Authority employee Lakpa Tamang, according to Chilime Hydropower Company Managing Director Baburaja Maharjan.
Their bodies were found on Wednesday afternoon in the control room area, about 150 metres inside the outer section of the hydropower tunnel. The bodies recovered from the facility were transported to Nuwakot by a Nepal Army helicopter before being handed over to the families.
A joint rescue operation involving the Nepal Army, Indian Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Electricity Authority personnel was conducted under the command of a Nepal Army brigade commander.
Maharjan said the flood in the Bhotekoshi River reached about 85 metres above the tunnel, which itself was around 20 metres above the river level, burying the tunnel and destroying the entire facility, including two 11-MW turbines.
Rasuwa Chief District Officer Kamal Prasad Pandey said search and rescue as well as relief operations are continuing. A 25-member committee has been formed with a one-month mandate to collect details of the disaster damage.
Temporary ropeways and footbridges have also been constructed across the river to facilitate movement. Authorities have arranged medicines and health personnel to prevent possible cholera and other disease outbreaks following the disaster.
