Following an August 26, 2026 glacier collapse in Nepal’s Trishuli valley, a flash flood killed over 1,200 people, left 4,000 missing, and wiped out 10% of the nation’s power capacity. To navigate 2.2 million tonnes of mud and debris burying hydropower tunnels, search teams are relying on a WhatsApp group of over 500 engineers.
- Digital Coordination: The chat group, created before the disaster, allows officials and rescuers to request and receive facility blueprints, structural advice, and missing personnel details within minutes.
- First Breakthrough: On September 5, rescue workers pulled two survivors alive from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A plant after nine days underground.
- Targeted Operations: Teams are using shared schematics to reach deep air chambers—such as at the Rasuwagadhi plant, where 46 workers may be trapped—and pumping oxygen through pipes into subterranean cavities.
- Signal Tracking: Members are passing missing workers' phone numbers to telecom authorities to locate their last known cell signals in the valley.
