Nearly 800 rescued after floods in Nepal; 350 sheltered in tunnel
350 people were evacuated from a tunnel near the Trishuli River as Nepalese authorities and the UN coordinate large-scale rescue efforts.
On 27 August 2026 heavy floods in Nepal prompted a large-scale rescue effort that has so far brought almost 800 people to safety, authorities and aid coordinators said.
People sheltered inside hydropower tunnel
The office of Nepal’s prime minister reported that 350 people were evacuated from a tunnel beside the Trishuli River. Officials said those rescued from the tunnel were mainly local residents and employees of the nearby hydropower plant, whose infrastructure includes the tunnel.
The Nepal Army is continuing operations to reach and extract another estimated 100 people still inside the tunnel, according to government statements.
Counts of the total number rescued vary. Nepalese media put the number at 833, while the United Nations resident coordinator in Nepal, Lila Pieters Yahija, said the UN’s tally was 796.
"More than 30,000 security personnel have been mobilized and are working around the clock. The government has mobilized all search-and-rescue capacities. There is a municipality that is impossible to reach by road, and all government assistance is being delivered by helicopter," Yahija said.
Rescue teams and security forces remain on the ground as operations continue and local authorities update figures. The situation is fluid and officials say numbers could change as crews reach cut-off areas and complete search-and-rescue work.
Photo: press material from the event
