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Drilling creates wider access to 12 trapped Vietnamese workers in tunnel collapse

Drilling creates wider access to 12 trapped Vietnamese workers in tunnel collapse

Friday, December 19, 2014, 11:49 GMT+7

Rescuers have created a 16 cm-wide access hole to the location where 12 workers have been trapped inside a collapsed tunnel section at a hydropower plant in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong since Tuesday.

>> Rescuers drilling to gain access to 12 trapped Vietnamese workers >> 12 workers trapped in Vietnam tunnel collapse are alive Through great effort rescuers finished drilling the hole, which is wider the current one, at about 8:30 am Friday, December 19,  at the exhaust mouth of the tunnel, said Colonel Nguyen Huu Hung, Deputy Chief of Staff of Sappers.  The hole will enable rescuers to pump water out of the tunnel and provide more air for the workers. It will also facilitate the provision of clothes, medicine, food and other essential items to the trapped group before they are eventually rescued.

Over the past few days, only milk and other liquid nutrients have been transmitted to the workers through a 6-cm pipe that was put through another opening. When the new hole was finished, floodwater from inside the tunnel flowed out, rescuers said. Rescuers had earlier reported that all 12 workers are in good condition.

Yesterday, another drilling attempt from the top of the tunnel was blocked by rocks so the work had to stop, but the obstruction was overcome and the drill is now 28 meters from the trapped workers.   

An excavator carries soil and mud from the collapsed tunnel section to outside (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Present at the scene, Deputy Construction Minister Le Quang Hung said the ministry is considering inviting foreign experts from Taiwan and Japan to help rescue the workers, news website VnExpress reported. “All necessary information has been sent to potential partners. If the current rescue plan fails to reach the group, such partners will be contacted at once,” he said. The health of the victims has been negatively impacted since they have experienced bad conditions inside the collapsed tunnel for four days, the deputy minister said, adding that the rescue force, consisting of 500 people, is trying its best to get them out as soon as possible. The rescue force includes specialists from Lam Dong province, the Ministry of Defense, the High Command of Sappers, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department, the Vietnam Coals and Mineral Group, and other agencies. Colonel Du Truong Giang, commander of the provincial Military Headquarters, who is among the senior officials present at the scene to coordinate rescue efforts, told Tuoi Tre correspondents that the work is progressing under the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, who arrived in the area on Thursday. The incident occurred at 7:15 am on Tuesday when a 20-meter-long section of the under-construction tunnel of the Da Dang-Dachomo hydropower plant in Lac Duong District collapsed.  

A rescuer tries to communicate with and listen to the trapped victims through a pipe (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Two salvage tunnels being drilled Currently, two salvage passageways are being dug by sappers from both sides of the collapsed tunnel to get the workers out. Of the salvage tunnels, the one on the right side is the main tunnel while the other is serving as standby in case the primary tunnel fails to reach the victims. Based on the speed of the digging, which covers 8 meters at most per day, it will take three days [from Thursday afternoon] to reach the group through either the tunnels, said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai when he inspected the rescue activities on Thursday.

At 10 pm on Thursday, the deputy chairman of the Lam Dong province People’s Committee wrote a letter and sent it to the workers through a hard string. “Hundreds of rescuers from the Ministries of Defense, Public Securirty, Health, Industry and Trade and Construction, and from the Vietnam Coals and Mineral Group and the province are mobilizing all possible resources to save you. “Please rest and stay healthy. Let us know what you need so we can provide it to you.” The official concluded the letter by saying, “Everybody outside the tunnel is working around the clock as fast as they can to save you all.”

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