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:
Laxman Aryal, a member of the group, said that information such as preliminary drawings and details of access tunnels were shared to rescuers through group contacts.
Members of the Whatsapp group also 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.
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.
