Rasuwa [Nepal], September 2 (ANI): A 13-member team from the US-based Crisis Response International has arrived in Nepal to assist in search and rescue operations at critical hydropower tunnel sites in Syabrubesi's Chilime area of Rasuwa district, where rescuers believe survivors may still be trapped.
The team plans to use high-technology listening equipment to detect possible signs of life inside the tunnels and deploy specialised safety teams to conduct search operations.
Rescue team member Ferrin Cole said the team would travel by helicopter to the hydropower tunnels and use listening equipment to search for sounds indicating that people may still be alive.
"The Nepali people are incredibly resilient, and they are doing an amazing job at rescues. And we get to be a part of serving them today. There are families here that lost their lives, and that is extremely hard... The Indian teams that are here serving. Thank you for being here. You are amazing. We have heard nothing but good things about your search and rescue teams," he told ANI.
He added, "The plan today is to get on a helicopter and go to the hydro tunnels, where they believe there's still life. And so we have high-technology listening equipment to listen for sounds of life. And then the safety teams to go in and check."
Another team member, Derrick Spencer, said rescuers had already reached the tunnel entrance but realised that further operations would require additional safety arrangements, including ropes.
"So far there has been a team go to the entrance of the tunnel and begin back in, and they realised that they needed to be roped off, so they wanted people to go back in further. We are partnering with some of the locals and the armed police and some of the people here," Spencer told ANI.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the Nepal floods has risen to 1,127, according to Nepal Police.
Nepal Police said 45 bodies have been recovered from Rasuwa, 155 from Nuwakot, 59 from Dhading, 348 from Chitwan, 66 from Gorkha, 38 from Tanahun, 217 from Nawalparasi East, 190 from Nawalparasi West and nine in India.
Of the recovered bodies, only 95 have so far been handed over to families after identification, according to Nepal Police.
In Bidur, as families continue to search for loved ones missing in the devastating flash floods, a group of youngsters under the banner of Youth Initiative has set up a small help point where people can charge their mobile phones and access basic communication facilities while searching for information about their missing family members.
The volunteers have arranged around 10 keypad phones and batteries, along with mobile phone charging facilities powered by solar batteries. They are helping people who have either lost their phones in the floods or run out of battery while waiting for updates.
Roshan, 27, from Kathmandu, and Shugam, 24, from Kathmandu, are among the youngsters involved in the initiative. The volunteers said they have already helped several people who came to Bidur in search of their missing relatives. (ANI)
"Nepali people are incredibly resilient": US rescue team deployed at Chilime Hydropower tunnels; death toll rises to 1,127
