The WhatsApp group helping Nepal’s tunnel rescue

By Sohail Khan 4 September 2026, 8:20 am

Benchmarks
Nifty23,873.45-41.0

Precious Metal
Gold (MCX) (Rs/10g.)155,701.003299.0

Enter search text:

Business News›News›International›World News›Nepal flood rescue: WhatsApp group of engineers guides search for survivors in buried hydropower tunnels

Read Today's Paper

Nepal flood rescue: WhatsApp group of engineers guides search for survivors in buried hydropower tunnels
Synopsis

Experts use a WhatsApp group to guide rescue workers searching devastated hydropower plant tunnels. They seek survivors trapped inside tunnels after a massive flash flood devastated the valley. Engineers share layout drawings and tunnel access details to aid the difficult search operations. Rescue teams are trying to reach trapped individuals in various power plant locations. Family members anxiously await news of their missing loved ones after the disaster.

Nepal flash floods: Indian specialised team joins tunnel search and rescue operations — Experts use a WhatsApp group to guide rescue workers searching devastated hydropower plant tunnels. They seek survivors trapped inside tunnels after a massive flash flood devastated the valley.

Kathmandu: An army of experts in a WhatsApp group is guiding rescue workers scouring a Nepali valley after a huge flash flood more than a week ago as they desperately search for anyone who may be alive inside tunnels of devastated hydropower plants.

The messaging group was set up by engineers before the wall of water, mud and rock crashed down the Trishuli valley in Nepal on August 26. It has since become a valuable tool alongside helicopters and heavy machinery in the race to find survivors.

Also Read: Nepal floods: Death toll hits 1,259, over 5,000 missing

The authorities hope some of the about 900 people reported missing from six hydropower plants – at least three of which were under construction – may have escaped the deluge because they worked in or fled into the tunnels.

Even finding entrances to some of the tunnels, which were designed to channel water or used to access hydropower facilities, is tough now after the flood deposited 2.2 million ‌tonnes of mud and debris ⁠down the ⁠valley.

'SEND ME LAYOUT DRAWINGS'

"Can you send me Chilime layout drawings," a government official wrote on the engineers' WhatsApp group on Saturday as rescue workers searched the buried remains of the Chilime hydropower plant high in the Himalayan valley close to the Chinese border.

Minutes afterwards, a member of the group chat, which was expanded to add more experts in support of the rescue effort, responded by sending drawings of the project's powerhouse, as well as details of access tunnels.

That exchange and others posted on the group, which has more than 500 members, were seen by Reuters.

No one has yet been found alive in the tunnels at the 22 MW Chilime plant – or in tunnels at any of the power plants further down the valley.

But Nepal's Independent Power Producers' Association said on Monday at least eight people could be trapped at Chilime, while an official at the Nepal Electricity Authority said 46 may be trapped at Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant, further south.

Aloso Read: Nepal’s flood disaster is bigger than the climate blame game

Reuters spoke to a dozen people – including government and military officials, engineers, survivors and relatives of missing workers – who described the efforts to ⁠search the tunnel ‌networks of ruined hydropower plants, including how real-time guidance was being provided by experts over WhatsApp.

"The flood has altered the terrain around the tunnels and changed their structure, while mud, rocks, soil and other debris had accumulated inside," Nepal army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet told Reuters. "This is not a normal closure of tunnels."

At Chilime, Reuters images on Monday showed a large tunnel ⁠entrance with flood debris rising to the ceiling a short way inside.

More than 1,200 people were killed in last week's deluge caused by a glacier collapse. More than 4,000 people are still missing, including those who might be trapped inside tunnels.

Alongside Chilime, rescue workers are searching five other hydroelectric sites in the valley that were part of an expanding network of plants powering the nation and exporting the surplus. The flood wiped out 10% of Nepal's generation capacity.

SEEKING ADVICE ABOUT TUNNEL NETWORKS VIA WHATSAPP

At Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant, rescue workers reached 250 metres into one tunnel before finding it blocked. But they have not given up the search.

"We are trying to reach there inside again to look for people," said Amshu Kiran Shahi, a board member of the Nepal Electricity Authority, adding that 46 people may have been trapped in a chamber, where they might have access to food and water.

A manager at the Nepal Electricity Authority, speaking on condition of anonymity, said rescue workers had also asked former plant employees for advice about the tunnel networks via the WhatsApp group. He said drawings posted on the group had been useful.

At the ‌Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower project, rescue workers took almost six days before reaching the tunnel because the entrance was buried, Shahi said, adding that they had since tried to supply oxygen via pipes into any cavities in case someone was trapped.

A Reuters photographer who flew to the site on Thursday saw excavators trying to move huge boulders from the mouth of a tunnel and seeking to work their way deeper inside.

Jan Jiwan Thakur, ⁠a civil engineer at the Upper Trishuli 1 plant, said a colleague warned him of the coming flood moments before it swept down the valley, giving him enough time to climb to higher ground with about 100 others from the facility.

"We just ran away towards the hillside and, after two to three minutes when we looked down, everything was gone," he said. "The flood debris had entirely covered our office area."

Dhan Bahadur Tamang described escaping through a tunnel at the same plant when the flood hit, sending pipes and other equipment rushing inside. With knowledge of the tunnel system, he and several others found a way out but he described seeing dead bodies during his subterranean journey to escape.

On the engineers' WhatsApp group, members shared names and mobile phone numbers of missing workers, asking government officials to relay them to telecom authorities in a bid to find their last recorded location.

Meanwhile, family members await news of missing loved ones, like Rajesh Shrestha, whose 30-year-old son, Rajish, is an environmental engineer at Upper Trishuli 1.

"Whenever I look outside, I imagine seeing him carrying a bag and coming home, just as he used to," said Shrestha, who runs a workshop making window grills.

"I am surviving on the hope that he will return."

Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source
Add Now!

(You can now subscribe to our WhatsApp channel)

(You can now subscribe to our WhatsApp channel)

Read More News on
Nepal flood rescueWhatsApp group engineershydropower tunnels survivorsTrishuli valley floodNepal hydropower plantsrescue effortsmissing workers Nepal

Enter search text:

Continue reading with one of these options:
Limited Access
Free
Login to get access to some exclusive stories

& personalised newsletters
Login Now

Unlimited Access
Starting @ Rs120/month
Get access to exclusive stories, expert opinions &

in-depth stock reports
Subscribe Now

Unlock Access to All Exclusives with ETPrime FREE TRIAL

15 Days Free: Unlock All ETPrime Exclusives, Market Tools & ePapers

Trial offer expiring in00 : 05 : 00

I'd rather pay ₹2599 now

Uh-oh! This is an exclusive story available for selected readers only.

Worry not. You’re just a step away.

Prime Account Detected!

It seems like you're already an ETPrime member with

Log out of your current logged-in account and log in again using your ET Prime credentials to enjoy all member benefits.

Unlock ETPrime's Exclusive Stories Today!

Subscribe to gain powerful insights on business, stock market and industry trends.

Big Price Drop! Flat 40% Off

Student Only Offer

Already a Member? Sign In now

Already a Member? Sign In now
Already a Member? Sign In now

Offer Exclusively For You

Save up to Rs. 700/-

ON ET PRIME MEMBERSHIP

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get 1 Year Free

With 1 and 2-Year ET prime membership

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get 1 Year Free

With 1 and 2-Year ET prime membership

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get Flat 40% Off

Then ₹ 1749 for 1 year

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

ET Prime at ₹ 49 for 1 month

Then ₹ 1749 for 1 year

Avail Offer

Special Offer

Get flat 40% off on ETPrime

Avail Offer
Avail Offer

Claim NowAlready a Member? Sign In now

Need Assistance?

Connect with an ETPrime expert for personalized support and guidance

+91 9484700004

' + h3 + '

' + h4 + '

' + listing + '

What’s Included with

ETPrime Membership

1Exclusive Insights That Matter

Uncover the truth with our investigative stories

Make strategic moves using the real-world case studies

Read industry-specific stories to identify emerging trends

Spot opportunities with in-depth insights that matter

Trump temper on H-1B visas is forcing Indians to do these things to stay put in US

What Adani’s US indictment means for India Inc’s overseas fundraising
Why veterans like Reliance, L&T are on acquisition spree? Aswath Damodaran has an answer.

Will China’s dollar bond sale in Saudi Arabia trump the US in financial world?
Huawei launches its own OS to compete with Google and Apple. But can it win beyond China?

The problem with lab grown diamonds
Why a falling rupee is a better option for the economy

A list of top 20 momentum stocks that have delivered massive returns in one year