Archive · 4 Sep 2026
Nepal Tunnel Survivor Rescued After Nine Days Chanting Hare Krishna
Sanjay Sah was working in a hydropower-project tunnel in Nepal when a powerful flood struck.
He stayed behind because he wanted to help protect the other workers.
After the others escaped, Sah became trapped inside.
He spent nine days waiting for rescuers and said he chanted “Hare Krishna” during that time.
Rescue teams eventually found him alive.
Another worker, Kabir Maharjan, was rescued too.
Sah was taken to a local hospital and was reported to be stable.
Maharjan was flown to a hospital in Kathmandu for more treatment.
Rescuers kept searching because more people might still have been inside the long tunnel.
Sanjay Sah, a 30-year-old Nepal Electricity Authority foreman, was rescued after nine days trapped in a tunnel.
Sah said he repeatedly chanted the “Hare Krishna” mahamantra while awaiting rescue.
He and mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan, 45, were rescued from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project on Friday, September 4.
The rescue coincided with Krishna Janmashtami, the Hindu festival celebrating Krishna’s birth.
Search teams continued looking for possible survivors after Sah said others might remain deeper inside the tunnel.
- Who
- Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan were rescued by Nepal Army-led security teams.
- What
- Two workers were rescued after being trapped for nine days in a hydropower-project tunnel.
- When
- Friday, September 4, nine days after the August 26 disaster.
- Where
- The Trishuli 3A hydropower project in Nepal; Maharjan was flown to Nepal Army Hospital in Chhauni, Kathmandu.
- Why
- A flash flood struck the project, trapping workers inside the tunnel; rescuers searched for survivors using specialised equipment.
- Primary survivor
- Sanjay Sah, 30, a foreman with the Nepal Electricity Authority from Saptari district
- Time trapped
- Nine days
- Sah’s account
- He said he chanted the “Hare Krishna” mahamantra while trapped
- Second survivor
- Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor who required further treatment
- Medical condition
- Sah was reported to be stable and taken to a hospital in Trishuli
- Rescue date
- September 4, coinciding with Krishna Janmashtami
- Wider disaster
- The reports said more than 1,250 people had died and over 4,700 remained missing after the flash floods
