Archive · 7 Sep 2026
Arnold Dix Joins Nepal Rescue Amid Unprecedented Flood Challenges
Arnold Dix is an expert who helps rescue people from tunnels and other dangerous places.
He helped save 41 workers trapped in India’s Silkyara tunnel in 2023.
Now he is helping rescue teams in Nepal after severe flooding.
Some people may be trapped in or near the Chilime hydropower tunnel.
The rescuers are facing mud, debris, poor roads and difficult terrain.
This mission is harder because there may be several rescue sites at once.
Teams from Nepal and India are working together to search the tunnel and reach isolated communities.
Dix says rescuers should keep doing what is right even when they do not know whether they will succeed.
He says people in danger should not be abandoned.
Australian tunnel expert Arnold Dix has joined search-and-rescue operations in Nepal after floods along the Bhotekoshi River.
Dix previously helped rescue 41 workers from India’s Silkyara tunnel in 2023.
Rescuers are searching the Chilime hydropower tunnel, where people may have taken refuge near an underground powerhouse.
The Nepal operation involves multiple possible rescue sites, difficult access, slush, heavy debris and perilous terrain.
Indian and Nepali teams, including personnel involved in the Silkyara rescue, are working together while expanding access to the tunnel.
- Who
- Australian tunnel expert Arnold Dix, alongside Nepali and Indian technical and rescue teams.
- What
- Search-and-rescue and access operations are continuing after severe flooding, including a search for people possibly trapped in the Chilime hydropower tunnel.
- When
- Dix arrived in Nepal on Saturday and described the operation on Monday; the floods occurred on August 26.
- Where
- Nepal, particularly the Chilime tunnel and the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli corridor.
- Why
- Catastrophic flooding created dangerous conditions, isolated communities and multiple possible rescue sites.
- Rescue expert
- Arnold Dix
- Previous rescue
- Dix helped rescue 41 workers from India’s Silkyara tunnel in 2023.
- Current search site
- The Chilime hydropower tunnel and its underground powerhouse
- Flood impact
- Flooding along the Bhotekoshi River and Bhotekoshi-Trishuli corridor left hundreds dead and thousands missing, according to the article.
- Operational challenge
- Multiple potential rescues are unfolding simultaneously in different locations.
- Joint response
- Indian and Nepali technical teams are working together inside the tunnel.
- Access progress
- About 950 metres of a temporary road had been cleared, and rope connectivity was being established from Syafrubesi to the tunnel.
