River water smashed into tunnel and chased me for 20 minutes, Nepal worker tells BBC

Nepalese hydropower workers have told the BBC about the catastrophic moment water from the Trishuli River crashed into their tunnel as the region was inundated by deadly flash floods last week.

It started with a sudden, strong gust of air, says Pemba Dundu Tamang, whose team of about 30 was constructing the tunnel's concrete lining.

The blast of wind sent plywood flying through the air and dislodged heavy machinery. Just outside, houses had already been swept away.

"I ran towards the tunnel entrance," he said. "The water was chasing behind me and I was running ahead of it."

Tamang lost several family members who were at home at the time. Nepal's death toll has exceeded 1,000 after last week's devastating floods, and officials say about 4,000 are missing.

A number of the missing - potentially in the hundreds - are labourers like Tamang, working in a vast network of tunnels at hydropower sites along the river. Engineers have been pumping air into these tunnels as part of a huge rescue operation.

"We are focused on search-and-rescue efforts at the tunnels, our work is continuing," Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP news agency.

"Our soldiers are also deployed to collect bodies and prevent the spread of disease."