Drone Operator Details Rescue Challenges in Nepal Flood Disaster
· World · The Independent, News18
Filmmaker and drone pilot Manish Maharjan joined Nepal Army rescue operations following catastrophic flash floods in Nepal and China. The disaster, triggered by a glacial collapse and a magnitude 5.2 seismic event on August 26, has killed over 1,000 people and left thousands missing. Operating thermal drones, Maharjan aided search efforts for roughly 900 missing workers across 12 hydropower projects, including about 500 trapped inside mud-filled tunnels. Maharjan reported that rescue teams played audio messages via drone speakers to locate survivors stranded on isolated hillsides and in caves. However, tunnel rescue operations faced severe obstacles because the underground passages were completely packed with dense mud resembling toothpaste.
Why it matters
The disaster has severely damaged critical hydropower and transport infrastructure across Nepal, leaving hundreds of workers trapped underground.
Read the original report — The Independent
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