He kept chanting the mahamantra, says 30-year-old Sanjay Shah, one of the two hydropower workers pulled alive from a tunnel buried by debris in Nepal on Friday, the tenth day of rescue efforts after catastrophic Himalayan flooding.
Rescuers cheered as he was pulled through a muddy opening, a video released by the energy ministry showed. He was helped to his feet by rescuers, and later carried on the backs of the emergency workers, raising his hand as they took him towards a helicopter.
Sanjay Shah, a mechanical foreman at Upper Trishuli 3A, was rescued from a depth of 170 meters inside the tunnel, according to Nepal Army spokesperson Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet. The 30-year-old refused to abandon his colleagues amid the tragedy.
“As soon as the danger warning was received, I set about trying to get everyone out safely. I simply could not bring myself to flee alone and leave the others behind. In the effort to save others, the time available for escape ran out,” Shah said.
“We did not lose heart during this difficult time. We kept chanting the mahamantra and praying to God to save our lives. Spending nine days without food or water was incredibly hard for us,” he recounted.
“But finally, when I emerged safely after nine days, my joy knew no bounds. It is difficult to put that moment into words; it felt as though I had been given a new lease on life,” he said.
The two were among hundreds of hydropower workers who had been missing since a wall of mud and debris swept through the region on August 26 after a vast glacial and rock collapse on a mountain on the China-Nepal border. Rescuers called it a “miracle” after the disaster that has killed at least 1,280 people and left more than 5,500 missing.
When faith becomes fuel, even nine days in darkness turn to light. Follow Dharmic News for more updates on Hindu community issues and global affairs.
