SANJAY Sah survived for 10 days trapped inside a dark tunnel at Nepal’s Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station, drinking seepage and mud water and relying on prayers as floodwaters buried the facility in mud and debris.
The 30-year-old mechanical foreman was eventually rescued and released from hospital on Friday, but said he had no idea he had been trapped for so long, believing only two or three days had passed.
“There was nothing for my eyes to see. Most of the time I kept them closed. I was afraid that if I slipped or hit something by mistake, I could injure my eyes. So I kept them shut for long periods,” he told Reuters in an exclusive interview.
“After doing that repeatedly, it became difficult even to open my eyes again.”
Sah said he had no food during his ordeal, surviving by drinking floodwater and seepage water from the surrounding mountain rock.
When despair set in, he repeatedly recited the Hindu Maha Mantra, drawing strength from his faith.
“Even if I had to die, I thought, what would be the point of giving up quickly? So I continued to chant God’s name and recite the Maha Mantra,” he said.
“The Maha Mantra gave me a different kind of feeling, almost a spiritual experience. I wasn't afraid. Instead, I felt calm and relaxed.”
Sah said the flood had transformed the tunnel beyond recognition, with equipment swept away, walls collapsed and debris forming mounds and pits.
He initially tried to move through the damaged structure but eventually decided to remain in what he believed was the safest spot, fearing he could become trapped somewhere else.
“I had completely lost track of time and felt as if I had been living in another world,” he said. “My guess was that only two or three days had passed. I was shocked when I learned it had actually been 10 days.”
In the final hours before his rescue, Sah said he began hearing excavators and other rescue activity outside.
“I knew they would come. I knew a rescue operation would be launched,” he said.
“I could hear the excavators working and the clanging of ladders. About 10 to 12 hours before the rescue, I could clearly hear people working. That gave me real hope.”
Sah said he had been with colleague Kabir Maharjan, 45, shortly before the flood struck. Both headed upwards after deciding the higher floors offered better protection, but they became separated as water entered the powerhouse.
“We both had little time left and headed upward instead of going down,” Sah said. “We believed that even if a large flood came, it would not reach that high. We had reached the sixth floor when water began entering from below. First came air pressure, then the water itself. We got separated in the chaos. My mobile phone was swept away. I do not know where Kabir ended up.”
Sah said the most painful part of his ordeal was learning that some people he had advised to evacuate the tunnel managed to get outside but were later swept away by the flood.
“That is the saddest part of all,” Sah said.
At least 1,300 people have been confirmed dead and more than 5,300 remain missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet region following the late-August collapse of a Himalayan glacier that triggered devastating flooding in the valleys below. - September 12, 2026
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