India deploys tunnel rescue team to Nepal as flood toll mounts
India sends tunnel rescue team and forensic experts to Nepal; 287 Indians missing after Bhote Kosi flash floods.
A specialised tunnel rescue team from India reached Nepal on Saturday, August 29, 2026, to assist in search-and-rescue operations following devastating flash floods in the Bhote Kosi river region. The deployment follows an urgent assessment by an Indian reconnaissance team that arrived a day earlier.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that three aircraft carrying relief materials have been dispatched to Nepal since the disaster struck on August 26. As of Saturday, at least 287 Indian nationals remain missing, along with 128 persons of Indian origin, according to official figures.
In a parallel effort, six teams of Indian forensic experts are expected to arrive over the weekend. Their task will be to identify mortal remains recovered from the disaster-hit areas, where multiple under-construction hydropower project sites have been severely affected.
The tunnel rescue team, equipped with specialised machinery, has been sent based on recommendations from the recce team that surveyed the sites on Friday. The equipment is intended to help reach people trapped in tunnels and underground structures at the hydropower projects.
Meanwhile, Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu stated that the government is making every attempt to locate both local and foreign nationals affected by the calamity. On Saturday, four Indian nationals — Ripu Kumar, Chaneshwar Narzary, Kripa Shankar, and Mohammed Minhajuddin — were rescued from a hydropower project site in Rasuwa district.