Rescued tunnel worker says he stayed behind to save others

Sanjay Sah had already told everyone to run when the flood hit the Trishuli 3A hydropower tunnel. But the mechanical foreman did not leave immediately. He stayed in the control room to help get others to safety, and lost his own chance to escape.

“My responsibility was to save everyone’s life,” Sah told a Nepali Army medical team after rescuers pulled him from the tunnel in Nuwakot on Friday. He said that by the time the other workers had fled, it was too late for him to get out.

“

My responsibility was to save everyone’s life.

“I told everyone to run. In doing that, my time was lost. In the end, I could not get out,” he said. Sah spent the time he was trapped reciting a mantra while waiting for rescue.

“

I told everyone to run. In doing that, my time was lost. In the end, I could not get out.

He said he had heard or communicated with three or four people nearby by talking or making noises. But he warned that others could still be trapped farther inside, including near the powerhouse. The tunnel is very long, he said, and the force of the water may have carried people deeper underground.

A flash flood struck the Trishuli valley on August 26. Sah was rescued nine days later, alongside Kabir Maharjan of Kathmandu. Both men were brought out alive on Friday.

“

There could be. Not everyone may have been able to escape. The tunnel is very long.