Hydropower Worker Survives 10 Days in Flooded Tunnel in Nepal
In Nepal, Sanjay Saha, a worker on a hydropower project, was rescued from a flooded tunnel after 10 days in darkness. He became trapped during the catastrophic flood on August 26, caused by the collapse of a glacial mountain on the border between China and Nepal.
As Channel NewsAsia reports, citing AFP, the 30-year-old Saha was pulled from the tunnel on September 4. After being rescued, he first asked rescuers how much time had passed. According to him, he believed he had been trapped for only several days.
Flooding at hydropower facilities
Saha was among hundreds of workers at several hydropower projects affected by the flood. He said that workers received a warning about the approaching water and tried to evacuate their colleagues, but there was not enough time. According to him, within minutes the tunnel was engulfed by raging water with waves several meters high.
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The Nepalese government linked the scale of the disaster to the consequences of rising global temperatures for the Himalayas. According to the data cited in the report, the disaster claimed at least 1,429 lives, while more than 5,640 people were considered missing; most of them were in Nepal.
Muddy water and contact with a colleague
Saha said he had no clean water and drank muddy water. In the darkness, he prayed and recited Hindu mantras, which, he said, helped him not lose hope. Nearby, 45-year-old worker Kabir Maharjan also survived. The men were separated but were able to speak to each other.
After several days in a Kathmandu hospital, Saha was returning to his home district of Saptari. He urged that search and rescue operations in the tunnels not be stopped. According to the outlet, rescuers saved another worker from China on September 5, but since then they have recorded no signs of life from other people.
