‘Nepal Mission Toughest Test Yet’: Why Bhotekoshi’s Chilime Rescue Op Needs Silkyara Fame Expert

Last Updated:September 08, 2026, 5:40 PM IST

Nepal Rescue Op: Professor Arnold Dix will provide technical advice and field leadership for teams trying to locate and reach workers trapped deep underground

Professor Arnold Dix in Nepal. (X)

Australian tunnel rescue expert Arnold Dix, famous for leading the successful 2023 Silkyara tunnel evacuation in India, has officially joined the massive emergency search operations in flood-hit Nepal.

Professor Dix arrived in the country to provide technical advice and field leadership for teams trying to locate and reach workers trapped deep underground.

THE NEPAL RESCUE OPERATION

Dix is collaborating directly with Indian and Nepali joint technical teams at the Chilime hydropower tunnel near the Bhotekoshi River.

Rescuers are desperately working to clear debris, slush, and thick mud to reach an underground powerhouse where missing workers are believed to have taken refuge, say reports.

Unlike the 2023 Uttarakhand incident, which focused on a single collapsed tunnel entrance, Nepal is facing a multi-site crisis. Describing it as the toughest test of his career, Dix noted that while the structures themselves are mostly intact, catastrophic destruction of the outside environment has left multiple independent rescue operations running concurrently under extremely poor access conditions.

The operation has reunited Dix with familiar figures from the Silkyara rescue, including Colonel Parikshit Mehra, who is leading the Indian Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployment on the ground.

The joint operation is currently establishing rope connectivity to bring in more personnel while clearing manual pathways through heavy debris. Drawing from his past success, Dix remains optimistic, famously stating that his experience has taught him “never to confuse unlikely with impossible”.

THE CHILIME RESCUE OP: WHY IS IT TOUGH?

The rescue operation at the Chilime Hydropower tunnel in Nepal’s Rasuwa district is extraordinarily tough due to severe geographical, structural, and technical challenges. The primary obstacle is the massive accumulation of thick, liquid sludge and heavy rocks pushed into the 250-meter-long tunnel by flash floods, which rises all the way to the ceiling at the entrance and creates chest-deep mud traps further inside. Because heavy machinery could not initially reach the site, a joint rescue team of Nepali and Indian military personnel had to clear this debris manually using shovels and basic tools, making progress painstakingly slow, say experts.

Compounding the problem, the surrounding infrastructure was completely obliterated, meaning the roads and bridges leading to the project were washed away. Rescuers had to construct an entirely new access road from Syabrubesi just to bring a single excavator to the tunnel portal, while smaller equipment and generators had to be airlifted piece by piece using small helicopters capable of navigating the mountainous terrain. Even with machines on-site, the operation remains highly dangerous because the altered terrain and structural damage pose a constant risk of tunnel collapses.

Bad weather further limits working hours, but specialized teams continue to use high-capacity mud pumps and safety-rope connections to drain the sludge, racing against time to reach potential air pockets in the underground powerhouse.

SILKYARA & NEPAL RESCUE OPS: THE SIMILARITIES

The primary connection is Arnold Dix himself, acting as the lead technical advisor and structural expert for both high-stakes operations. The operation features the exact same tactical leadership. Colonel Parikshit Mehra, who coordinated the engineering feats at Silkyara, is on the ground in Nepal heading the Indian technical deployment.

In both disasters, the rescue strategy relies on the existence of “survivable pockets”. At Silkyara, workers survived in a spacious, stable buffer zone of the tunnel.

In Nepal, teams are tunneling toward an underground powerhouse chamber where they believe trapped workers retreated to find air, water, and shelter.

Both incidents occurred in the notoriously unstable and steep terrain of the Himalayan mountain range — Uttarakhand in India vs. the Rasuwa district near the China-Nepal border.

Just like at Silkyara, the rugged geography has severely restricted heavy machinery. Rescuers in Nepal are dealing with destroyed bridges and roads, meaning heavy helicopters cannot land, forcing crews to rely heavily on manual excavation, safety ropes, and light machinery to break through debris.

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Who is Arnold Dix and what is his role in the Nepal rescue operation?

Arnold Dix is an Australian tunnel rescue expert, famous for leading the 2023 Silkyara tunnel evacuation in India. He has joined the Nepal emergency search operations to provide technical advice and field leadership for teams locating workers trapped underground in flood-hit areas, particularly at the Chilime hydropower tunnel.

What makes the Chilime hydropower tunnel rescue operation in Nepal so challenging?

The Chilime rescue operation is challenging due to massive accumulation of thick sludge and heavy rocks from flash floods, which completely blocked the 250-meter tunnel. Destroyed infrastructure, including roads and bridges, made access difficult, requiring manual clearing and airlifting equipment.

What similarities exist between the Silkyara and Nepal tunnel rescue operations?

Both operations involve Arnold Dix as the lead technical advisor and Colonel Parikshit Mehra heading the Indian technical deployment. They both rely on finding “survivable pockets” for trapped workers and are complicated by the rugged Himalayan terrain, which restricts heavy machinery and necessitates manual excavation.

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Manjiri Joshi

At the news desk for 20 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci…Read More

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