Wife’s Joy as Husband Rescued Alive in Nepal

Laxmi Kumari Sah, wife of Sanjaya Sah, who was rescued from the tunnel of Nepal’s flood-hit Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, is over the moon after her husband was rescued alive on Friday morning.

Sah was one of two people rescued by a joint team of the Nepal Army and Armed Police Force from deep inside the tunnel, which was damaged by last week’s deadly floods.

Sanjaya Sah, 30, a foreman employed at the project, hails from the southern district of Saptari. Along with him, Kabir Maharjan, 45, a supervisor in the Hydropower Automation section of the project, was also rescued alive.

“I am very happy about the rescue of my husband, and it has brought happiness to all my family members,” Laxmi told IANS in a brief conversation.

“I was at home when I heard about his rescue at around 8:30 a.m. It has brought immense joy to our family.”

She said she was heading to Kathmandu to meet her husband following his rescue. She said the last 10 days were very painful for her and her family.

Earlier, the Nepali Army said the two men were rescued following sustained efforts to reach those believed to be trapped inside the tunnel, which was affected by the deadly floods last week. The disaster has so far claimed 1,259 lives, while 5,053 people remained out of contact as of Thursday evening, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

“After 10 days of darkness, life has seen the light again. Two people have been rescued alive from inside the hydropower project tunnel at Trishuli-3A,” the Nepali Army said earlier in a social media post. “The rescue operation is underway.”

The successful rescue of the two men alive has revived hope that others believed to be trapped inside tunnels at several flood-affected hydropower projects could also be rescued alive.

The Independent Power Producers’ Association, an association of private-sector power developers, said on Thursday evening that as many as 945 people working in 11 hydropower projects affected by the floods remained out of contact.