"Blew Up Rocks The Size Of Cars": 'Never-Before-Seen' Nepal Tunnel Rescue Op - NDTV

**Never‑Before‑Seen Tunnel Rescue in Nepal Involves Blasting Car‑Sized Rocks**

A section of a mountain tunnel in western Nepal collapsed late on Tuesday after a sudden landslide, sending massive boulders—some the size of cars—into the passage. The tunnel, part of a critical highway that links remote villages to the regional capital, trapped a convoy of three trucks and a minibus carrying a total of 27 passengers and drivers. Local authorities confirmed that the landslide was triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rainfalls that have battered the region for weeks, destabilising the steep slopes that flank the tunnel.

Rescue teams from the Nepalese Army, the National Disaster Relief Authority, and the local police mounted a coordinated operation that quickly turned to an unprecedented tactic: the controlled use of explosives to fracture and displace the gigantic rocks. Engineers placed precisely timed charges at strategic points, blasting the boulders into smaller fragments that could be manually removed by rescuers. The operation, described by senior army officer Colonel Bikash Shrestha as “the first of its kind in Nepal’s modern rescue history,” required careful monitoring of air quality and vibration to avoid further collapse. Over 12 hours of continuous work, rescuers cleared a 15‑meter section of the tunnel, creating a narrow corridor that allowed them to reach survivors.

By Thursday morning, all 27 individuals had been extricated, with eight suffering minor injuries and three requiring hospitalization for fractures. No fatalities were reported. The successful rescue has been hailed as a milestone for Nepal’s disaster‑response capabilities, demonstrating that high‑risk blasting can be safely integrated into emergency operations when traditional methods are insufficient. Officials say the experience will inform future protocols for tunnel emergencies and reinforce the need for regular geological assessments of critical infrastructure in the country’s quake‑prone, mountainous terrain.