Nepal tunnel survivor’s wife says her husband has gained a second life and thanks rescuers

“My husband has regained a new life. I am so happy,” Hira Soba said after rescuers pulled her husband, Kabir Maharjan, alive from a hydropower plant tunnel in central Nepal.

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My husband has regained a new life. I am so happy.

Nepalese army personnel and other rescue workers found two men alive on the morning of the 10th day after catastrophic flooding struck the country. They were discovered inside the tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant in Bagmati province.

Soba said she and her family had endured a long and painful wait. “It was really difficult to endure the time he was missing. It was not just a day or two,” she said. “I could not eat properly or sleep.” The family continued to believe that Maharjan was alive and would return, although she said they felt some sadness because his rescue took so long.

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It was really difficult to endure the time he was missing. It was not just a day or two. I could not eat properly or sleep.

“They risked their lives to save us. I sincerely thank the rescue team,” Soba said. Maharjan had worked at the Trishuli 3A plant for seven years and last spoke with his wife at about 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 26, shortly before the flooding. He disappeared after that call.

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We believed that he was still alive. We thought he would return. We were a little sad that he was late.

The rescue reportedly began after rescuers heard voices inside the tunnel and established communication with the workers. Authorities continued searching after receiving information that more survivors could be trapped inside. The plant lies in the same Trishuli River area as the Upper Trishuli-1 plant, where nine South Koreans were reported missing. South Korean officials were coordinating with Nepalese authorities to search routes where the nine may have evacuated.

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They risked their lives to save us. I sincerely thank the rescue team.