China-Nepal floods: 9 Chinese tunnel experts sent to aid rescue in race against time

Move follows direct request from Kathmandu, Beijing says, as more than 100 people remain trapped inside multiple hydropower tunnels in Nepal Seven people have been confirmed dead on the Chinese side, with 544 still missing as the rescue operation passed a critical 72-hour window. In Nepal, at least 675 have died and nearly 2,500 – hundreds of them foreigners – are missing. Five of the Chinese tunnel experts were flown in by helicopter from Gyirong county in Tibet, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday. They arrived in the afternoon to join rescue operations at a hydropower plant in the border region. The five were “urgently dispatched at the request of the Nepalese government”, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management said on Saturday evening. According to local authorities, more than 100 people remain trapped inside multiple hydropower tunnels and Nepali army teams are drilling in an “extremely challenging” rescue bid.

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