Miraculous Rescue: Nepali Hydropower Worker Recounts Nine-Day Ordeal in Flooded Dark Tunnel

A Nepali hydropower technician who endured nine harrowing days trapped deep inside a pitch-black subterranean tunnel following catastrophic flooding has shared the story of his improbable survival. Sanjay Sah, a 30-year-old mechanical foreman, was pulled alive from the submerged and debris-choked facility in early September during an operation that emergency personnel and relatives have described as nothing short of miraculous.

Speaking from his sister’s rented residence in Kathmandu on Friday, September 11, shortly after being discharged from an army hospital, Sah recounted the profound fear and sensory deprivation that defined his prolonged entrapment beneath the earth. Flanked by his family members, he described the psychological discipline and physical caution required to survive over a week cut off from light, nourishment, and human contact.

Throughout the grueling ordeal, the total absence of visibility forced Sah into a protective routine. Terrified that sudden movements in the absolute dark could cause him to slip or strike jagged debris and permanently damage his vision, he made the deliberate decision to keep his eyelids firmly shut for days on end to shield his eyes from unseen hazards.

Sah explained that because there was nothing visible within the enclosed underground passage, keeping his eyes closed became an instinctual method of self-preservation. However, this defensive strategy created unexpected complications; after remaining shut for prolonged periods in the damp environment, his eyes struggled to open and adjust to light once military search crews finally managed to break through to his position.

The disaster that ensnared Sah was part of a wider ecological emergency triggered in late August, when the catastrophic collapse of a Himalayan glacier unleashed violent flash floods and torrents of mud across river valleys in the region. The surging deluge tore through the Bhotekoshi River corridor in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, battering local settlements and critical energy infrastructure along its path.

The trans-Himalayan catastrophe inflicted widespread devastation across vulnerable mountainous terrain spanning Nepal and the neighboring Tibet region of China. Official assessments indicate that at least 1,300 people have been confirmed dead, while more than 5,300 others remain unaccounted for in the wake of the destructive deluge, underscoring the enormous scale of the regional crisis.

Prior to the sudden disaster, Sah had spent more than three years working as a mechanical foreman at the Upper Trishuli-3A Hydropower Project. The run-of-river generating plant, owned and operated by the state-run Nepal Electricity Authority, utilizes the powerful flow of the mountain river system to generate electricity for the national grid.

When the raging floodwaters and heavy mud crashed through the multi-storied facility, the complex structure quickly turned into a perilous trap. Water and mud rushed into the operational tunnels, cutting off access corridors and sealing workers within the subterranean sections of the plant.

Isolated in the depths of the multi-tiered tunnel complex, Sah faced days of uncertainty, enduring damp conditions and wondering if emergency crews would be able to locate him beneath mounds of debris. Confined to the pitch-black space, he avoided unnecessary motion to conserve energy and prevent severe injury on hidden wreckage scattered across the tunnel floor.

A high-stakes search and rescue operation spearheaded by the Nepal Army navigated severe environmental hazards and unstable ground to reach the trapped workforce. On September 4, rescue teams successfully penetrated the blocked tunnel network and extracted Sah, marking a rare moment of triumph amid an otherwise devastating emergency response.

Military responders confirmed that Sah was one of two individuals pulled out alive from the tunnel where both had been trapped by the inundation. The successful recovery of both workers provided a vital boost to emergency teams working across the disaster zone under challenging weather and topographic conditions.

Following his extraction, Sah was immediately transferred to an army hospital in Kathmandu, where medical professionals treated his injuries, including hand trauma that required bandaging, while carefully monitoring his physical recovery and reintroducing him to ambient light after prolonged darkness.

Upon his discharge on Friday, Sah reunited with his wife, Laxmi Sha, and his young daughter, Sundira Sah, at his sister’s apartment in the capital. Relieved family members gathered around the recovering worker, taking photographs and celebrating a homecoming that had seemed increasingly improbable with each passing day of his entrapment.

As rescue teams and regional authorities continue the arduous search for thousands of missing victims across the flood-ravaged Himalayan valleys, Sah’s remarkable deliverance offers a powerful testament to personal resilience in the face of unprecedented natural disaster.