Nine days of absolute darkness can break even the strongest minds. Imagine being locked underground with rising floodwaters, zero sunlight, and no clear way out. That was the grim reality for Sanjay Sah, a 30-year-old foreman at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project in Nepal. When a catastrophic ice-rock avalanche triggered massive flash floods along the region, Sah stayed behind in the control room to ensure others escaped. That split-second choice cost him his immediate freedom, plunging him into a subterranean nightmare.
Yet, his story became a global headline when he walked out alive over a week later.
Surviving the Subterranean Ordeal
How do you keep panic at bay when every breath feels like a countdown? For Sah, the answer was mental endurance rooted in faith. Throughout nine harrowing days trapped deep inside the blocked tunnel system, he continuously chanted the Hare Krishna mahamantra.
Working as an employee of the Nepal Electricity Authority, Sah was stationed in the control room when the disaster struck. He initially urged his colleagues to flee, but by the time he tried to make his own escape, the path was cut off. Trapped alongside a few other workers with whom he could occasionally communicate through muffled shouts or banging noises, he leaned entirely on his psychological anchoring to survive the pitch-black void.
The Remarkable Janmashtami Coincidence
Rescue operations led by the Nepal Army used specialized equipment to pierce through tons of debris along the river corridor. On Friday, September 4, 2026, heavy machinery and relentless digging finally broke through the blockage.
The timing sent shockwaves through observers. Sah and another survivor, 45-year-old mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan, were pulled out on Krishna Janmashtami. This sacred Hindu festival celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, making Sah's constant recitation of the mantra feel profoundly symbolic to millions watching the rescue unfold.
Footage released by the security forces showed Sah being carried out on a rescuer's back, his face caked in mud, yet alert and stable enough to speak. While Sah was transferred to a local hospital in Trishuli for observation, Maharjan required immediate medical airlifting to the Nepal Army Hospital in Kathmandu due to more severe health complications.
The Broader Crisis Behind the Miracle
While the survival of Sah and Maharjan provided an extraordinary moment of triumph, it took place against the backdrop of a staggering national tragedy. The late-August disaster—sparked by an avalanche near the border—wiped out homes, schools, and infrastructure across central and northern Nepal, leaving over a thousand dead and thousands more missing. Search teams continue to face immense hurdles, with hundreds of people still feared trapped deep inside the extensive tunnel networks of various regional hydropower projects.
Emergency crews are still utilizing heavy excavation gear and acoustic locators along the Trishuli River basin to find remaining survivors. If you want to support relief efforts for families affected by the Himalayan floods, check verified humanitarian agencies operating on the ground in Nepal to make direct contributions.
