Nepal Quake Death Toll Hits 626 As Rescuers Race to Free 100 Trapped in Tunnels

Rescue teams in Nepal are using drilling equipment in a race against time to reach more than 100 people trapped inside hydropower tunnels, three days after devastating floods struck the region. The number of missing in Nepal and Tibet has risen to nearly 3,000, with 633 bodies recovered so far, and reports of some victims possibly swept downstream as far as India. The office of Nepal's prime minister said in a statement that efforts to clear the entrance of the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project tunnel in Rasuwa have been intensified since early Saturday morning.

The army had already rescued 350 people under "extremely risky" conditions, according to an agency statement on Thursday. Initial reports suggested the 100 trapped were in a single location, but officials said rescue efforts were also underway at other hydropower projects. Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said operations were also ongoing at the Trishuli 3B site despite the adverse weather and extremely challenging circumstances. Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told that two helicopters had been dispatched, but locating the tunnel entry points was proving difficult.