A Nepali worker survived after spending nine days trapped inside a dark, flood-hit tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower plant, relying on floodwater to stay alive until rescuers reached him on the tenth day of the disaster.
Sanjay Sah recounts days in isolation inside the tunnel
Sanjay Sah, 30, had worked as a mechanical supervisor at the plant for more than three years when flooding swept through the site after a glacier collapsed in the Himalayas in late August. Sah is recuperating at his sister’s home in the capital, Kathmandu, after leaving hospital. He said he found no food during his ordeal and drank floodwater and water seeping from the mountain rocks.
He said thinking about his 26-year-old wife and their 2-year-old daughter gave him the strength to keep waiting, while he remained convinced that rescuers would reach him. He said the total darkness and debris scattered through the tunnel led him to keep his eyes closed most of the time, fearing he might trip or strike objects that could injure them.
Debris and injuries forced Sah to seek shelter
Scattered objects and broken lights caused repeated cuts and scrapes, with some piercing his feet. Sah initially tried to move in search of an exit but turned back after realizing he could reach a more dangerous area. He returned to the place he considered safest, where rescuers later found him.
He said the tunnel, whose layout he knew well, had changed completely after the flood. Water swept away equipment, boxes were scattered, walls collapsed, and debris piled up in mounds and pits, making his previous knowledge of the site useless in finding a way out. From the fifth floor of the six-storey plant building, Sah shouted for other survivors but received no response.
He also lost track of time, thinking only two or three days had passed before learning after his rescue that a full ten days had elapsed since the disaster. In the final hours, Sah heard excavators operating and metal ladders outside. He said those sounds, which began about 10 to 12 hours before rescuers reached him, restored his hope that his ordeal was nearing an end.
Sah revealed that his colleague, 45-year-old Kabir Maharjan, was also trapped inside the tunnel and suffered more serious injuries. The two had tried to climb to the upper floors when the flooding began, but air pressure and the flow of water separated them, while the floodwaters swept away Sah’s phone.
