More than 100 trapped in Nepal hydropower tunnel as new glacial lake threatens fresh floods

Rescuers descended from mountain slopes into a flattened border-crossing zone where thick mud has buried buildings and trapped more than 100 people inside a hydropower tunnel, as a new glacial lake threatens to unleash a second wave of flooding in the disaster zone.

Army races to reach trapped workers

Nepal's army has been deployed to reach the tunnel at a hydropower plant in the country's worst-hit district, where rescue operations are hampered by layers of mud blanketing the site.

The rappelling rescue team lowered themselves into the border-crossing area from wooded mountain slopes, state broadcaster China Central Television reported.

Border zone reduced to debris field

"As far as I can see, it's nothing but debris," rescue official Zou Mingqi told state media. Satellite images show the area where travellers passed through border control to enter or leave China has been reduced to a muddy expanse.

New glacial lake raises alarm

Rescuers remain on high alert for additional flooding from a lake that formed high in the Himalayan mountains after Wednesday's initial floods. The lake, created when a glacier collapsed and triggered the catastrophe, has started to overflow, experts warned.

Nepal seeks international help

Nepal has reversed an earlier decision and will now allow foreign rescue teams and experts to assist with recovery efforts.

Source: South China Morning Post