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Stunning video shows rescue workers in Nepal dragging trapped citizens out of the mud in a hydropower plant tunnel after the devastating mudslide that has left over 1,000 people missing.
The video, released by Nepal’s Prime Minister’s Office on Friday, shows a series of rescue workers pulling trapped people through a tunnel that’s been saturated with mud.
In a post on Facebook, the Prime Minister’s Office said it had rescued 350 people from the tunnel but that efforts continue to evacuate more than 100 people still trapped. The post also added that workers had moved another 533 residents to safety from flooded areas.
The rescue operation is intended to save people after a disastrous mudslide struck the valley in the Rasuwa district in northern Nepal, also affecting neighboring Chinese province Tibet.
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Rescuers evacuate a person from a tunnel of a hydropower project, in the aftermath of flash floods and a mudslide, in Rasuwa, Nepal, in this still image from handout video released August 28, 2026. (PMO Nepal/Handout via Reuters)
At least 538 people have been confirmed dead in Nepal, according to the most recent estimate from the Nepal National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) and the Nepal Police.
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People unaccounted for on the Nepal side now number up to 1,924, according to The Associated Press.
Chinese authorities also report that, on the Chinese side of the border in Tibet, which was also affected by the deluge and ensuing mudslide, five people were confirmed dead with another 558 missing.
Aftermath of flash floods and mudslide at Trishuli Bazaar army training centre in Nuwakot, Nepal, August 28, 2026. (REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas)
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Of the many missing people are approximately 90 Americans, according to the U.S. State Department.
President Donald Trump commented on the disaster Thursday, telling reporters, “That was a brutal… that was mud and water. It’s a mixture that nobody’s ever seen anything quite like that, where very powerful, strong, well-built buildings were wiped out like they were toothpicks.”
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The uniquely devastating natural disaster was likely caused by a giant ice rock that crashed into the Lhende Khola River after an earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
“On Wednesday morning (local time), 26 August 2026, a catastrophic debris flow and flood was likely triggered by a glacial collapse in Langtang National Park, Nepal, near the border with China,” the USGS said in a post on its website.
A survivor is transported to a safer place in a JCB following a flash flood at Trishuli in Nuwakot district, Nepal, August 26, 2026. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
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“This debris flow and flooding travelled nearly 100 km and impacted populated areas downstream along the Trishuli and Bhote Koshi Rivers, including Gyirong Port, China. Preliminary media reports and imagery analysis indicate many buildings and infrastructure have likely been buried or destroyed, including a vital highway connecting China and Nepal,” the post added.
Digital contacted the Nepalese Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department for further comment.
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Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
