Nepal Tunnel Rescue Frees 350; 100 Still Inside

Where it happened

The site is Trishuli 1, a 216-megawatt hydropower project under construction in Rasuwa district, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) north of Kathmandu on the Upper Trishuli River, according to Bloomberg. Rasuwa is among the districts hardest hit by the flash flood that tore down from the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday.

Bloomberg reported the $647 million project was led by two South Korean firms and was near the final stage of construction, with credit from nine international lenders including the International Finance Corp., the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Citing the Korea JoongAng Daily, Bloomberg said more than 90% of the upper dam was destroyed, along with roughly 90% of the base camp housing that held construction workers.

India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said Thursday that Indian nationals were among the workers at Trishuli 1, Bloomberg reported.

The tolls, and who is counting

Casualty figures diverge sharply by source and are still moving. Nepal Police put the death toll from Wednesday's Bhotekoshi flood at 475 on Friday, according to The Kathmandu Post via ANI. Bloomberg reported at least 389 killed and more than 1,200 missing, including hundreds of foreign tourists. CNN reported at least 538 people killed across the Nepal-China border zone; the Daily Mail also used 538 dead and put the missing at more than 1,500.

Individual governments have released their own counts of missing citizens. Reuters reported Friday that France says four of its nationals are unaccounted for, and the Daily Mail reported 33 Britons still missing.

What caused it, and what comes next

The U.S. Geological Survey has said no earthquake struck the area. Scientists have instead pointed to a glacial collapse at roughly 5,200 meters that sent a wall of water, sediment and boulders down the Lhende River into the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli systems.