Rescue operations are continuing at Nepal’s Chilime hydropower project, where six workers are believed to be trapped inside a tunnel, with Indian and Nepali teams using heavy machinery to clear mud and debris and advance towards an underground powerhouse.

The operation gathered pace after an excavator, loader and Bobcat were brought into the tunnel, India’s Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava said in an update on Saturday. The technical team cleared about 70 metres further, he said.

According to the project manager, the powerhouse is about 60 metres further down the tunnel. The rescue teams were to continue working through the night to reach it, Srivastava said.

The Border Roads Organisation has also prepared the approach road to the rescue site, according to authorities.

Separately, Nepal’s Army said it had constructed more than a kilometre of access road from Syafrubesi towards the Chilime tunnel, enabling rescue equipment to be taken closer to the si...