Australian expert assists in tunnel rescues following Nepal floods | ABC NEWS
Two people have been rescued alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal nine days after devastating floods hit the country.
Australian geologist and engineer Arnold Dix has been assisting Nepali authorities from his home in rural Victoria as they scoured the devastated landscape looking for survivors.
Professor Dix said the use of explosives to blow up damaged land and infrastructure to remove it in the hope of finding tunnel entry-ways has never been done before.
He said the Australian government asked him to fly to Nepal in the aftermath of the disaster, but he stayed in Monbulk because he had a solid data connection there that allowed him to connect with rescuers on the ground.
“That meant helping the team identify where the power station used to be, using satellite images coming out of helicopters,” he told ABC News Channel.
About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to local authorities.
The tunnelling expert is currently in Singapore where he is en route to Nepal to further assist rescue efforts on the ground.
#Nepal
Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated.
#ABCNEWS #ABCNEWSAustralia
