Three bodies have been recovered from the Chilime hydropower project in Rasuwa district, three weeks after devastating floods swept through the area, the Nepali Army said on Wednesday.

Army spokesperson Rajaram Basnet said the bodies were found during an ongoing search operation inside the project’s tunnel.

A team including divers entered the tunnel through an opening and searched to its far end on Wednesday, finding three bodies. Two were recovered and brought outside, while rescuers were still working to retrieve the third, according to the authorities.

The search for additional victims is continuing.

A joint search and rescue team involving the Nepali Army, Indian Army and Nepal Electricity Authority has been working to reach people believed to have been trapped inside the tunnel after the August 26 floods.

To reach the tunnel, rescuers first had to clear a route through the debris. An excavator and loader were flown to Syaphrubesi by helicopter and used to break through rocks and clear a path of about 1,050 metres to the tunnel, according to an update issued by the authorities.

The operation was complicated by water inside the tunnel. Rescuers found water emerging from inside the tunnel about 70 metres from the entrance and entered through the opening. They searched for about 130 metres before rising water, which had reached the upper part of the tunnel, made it impossible to use an excavator.

The August 26 floods caused widespread destruction in Rasuwa and neighbouring districts, killing hundreds of people and leaving thousands unaccounted for. The disaster also damaged hydropower projects, roads and other critical infrastructure along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river corridors.