Terrifying video of Nepal hydro tunnels as rescuers race to save hundreds

Nepal’s rescue teams are working tirelessly to save hundreds of people thought to be trapped inside a blocked maze of hydropower tunnels after floods swept across the region.

In videos seen on social media, the conditions of the rescue effort are chilling.

This comes after floods hit the country on the border with China last Wednesday (August 26). Currently, the death toll is reported to have past 900, with many still missing.

It’s believed the floods were caused by a glacier that collapsed near the border with China's autonomous Tibet region, causing a slide of mud, water, and ice to the area.

With 4,250 still missing tourists unaccounted for, Nepali officials said they are prioritizing reaching the hundreds of workers believed to be trapped inside hydropower project tunnels that had been blocked by the flash flood mud and rock.

Rescue teams have taken to social media to reveal their efforts, which includes digging with heavy duty tools and shovels with lights on the ground as they try to get closer to those believed to have been locked in by the debris five days ago.

Rescuers from surrounding regions, such as China, India and South Korea, and the Nepal Army are focusing on clearing the ‘water, mud, and sediment from inside the tunnel’.

“A large amount of debris has been deposited and that is posing us a big challenge to open the tunnels,” Nepal army spokesman, Raja Ram Basnet, told Reuters. “Our main focus is on opening the tunnels.”

He added the flood was an 'unprecedented and devastating natural disaster' and it is still unclear as to its full extent.

The video shows the terrifying conditions of the tunnels (Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs)

“Despite the adverse weather, difficult terrain and continuing risks, we are moving forward with determination to save the lives of our citizens,” he said in a Facebook on Sunday.

He added that nearly 21,000 security personnel were working alongside civilians and rescue teams.

Rescue efforts are underway (Photo by Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images)

As of now, some headway has been made at the Upper Trishuli 3A site, where a rescue team was able to break through the upper part of a tunnel to pump air through before using an excavator to dig.

According to Prime Minister Balendra Shah, rescuers were unable to make contact with anyone who may be there.

He said in an update over the weekend: “When members of the team descended using ropes and called out to those inside, there was no response.”

As for the Upper Trishuli-1 area, the Daily Mail reported that a Chinese team 'entered approximately 300 meters into the tunnel and conducted a search, recovering one body'.

Indian rescuers are working through the Chilime Hydro tunnel but reportedly had come up against a blockage at 100 meters in.

The full extent has yet to be seen (Google Maps/UNILAD)

The update explained: “Farther inside, was buried with mud and soil. During the operation, two bodies were recovered.”

Authorities are struggling to identify the bodies of the deceased and DNA samples are being taken from those who were found 'in a state of decomposition and no longer identifiable'.