The August 26 disaster sent a massive wall of water, mud and rocks down the valley following a glacial and mountain collapse near the Nepal-China (Tibet) border . At least 1,287 people have died, according to official records, while nearly 4,000 remain missing.
With search teams racing against time, the engineers’ group has emerged as an unlikely lifeline, providing rescuers with crucial information about buried hydropower projects, according to a Reuters report.
Last week, as rescuers searched the buried remains of the Chilime hydropower plant in the Himalayan valley near the Chinese border, a government official turned to the group for help. Minutes later, a member responded with drawings of the project’s powerhouse and details of its access tunnels.
“Can you send me Chilime layout drawings,” the official wrote.
Nepal’s Independent Power Producers’ Association said at least eight people could be trapped at Chilime, while a Nepal Electricity Authority official said up to 46 people may be trapped at the Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant further south. He said the 46 workers could be trapped in a chamber with access to food and water. We have not lost hope.
“I was in the control room, so my responsibility was to save everyone’s lives. “Rescue operations are continuing in all the affected tunnels. Let everyone’s efforts and prayers continue. “It’s a miracle!
A mechanical foreman said he stayed behind in a control room to help others escape after he asked colleagues to flee upon hearing news of the disaster. When there was such a big accident, it was not right for me to run away,” he said, as per Reuters. “We are trying to reach there inside again to look for people,” said Amshu Kiran Shahi, a Nepal electricity authority board member. “As long as there is breath, there is hope!” energy minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said in a statement. Lakshmi Naini, who said Maharjan was her brother-in-law, waited outside the hospital in Kathmandu after hearing that he had survived. I am very happy,” she told AFP. “I heard he is alive through social media, and I could not believe it.”
