Nepali people are incredibly resilient: US rescue team

A 13-member team from the US-based Crisis Response International has arrived in Nepal to assist in search and rescue operations at critical hydropower tunnel sites in Syabrubesi's Chilime area of Rasuwa district, where rescuers believe survivors may still be trapped.

The team plans to use high-technology listening equipment to detect possible signs of life inside the tunnels and deploy specialised safety teams to conduct search operations.

Rescue team member Ferrin Cole said the team would travel by helicopter to the hydropower tunnels and use listening equipment to search for sounds indicating that people may still be alive.

"The Nepali people are incredibly resilient, and they are doing an amazing job at rescues. And we get to be a part of serving them today. There are families here that lost their lives, and that is extremely hard... The Indian teams that are here serving. Thank you for being here. You are amazing. We have heard nothing but good things about your search and rescue teams," he told ANI.

He added, "The plan today is to get on a helicopter and go to the hydro tunnels, where they believe there's still life. And so we have high-technology listening equipment to listen for sounds of life. And then the safety teams to go in and check."

Another team member, Derrick Spencer, said rescuers had already reached the tunnel entrance but realised that further operations would require additional safety arrangements, including ropes.

"So far there has been a team go to the entrance of the tunnel and begin back in, and they realised that they needed to be roped off, so they wanted people to go back in further. We are partnering with some of the locals and the armed police and some of the people here," Spencer told ANI.