Rescue efforts for trapped workers accelerated

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai talked to 12 workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel at the construction site of Da Dang - Da Chomo hydropower plant upon his arrival at the scene on the afternoon of December 18.
Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai talked to 12 workers trapped in acollapsed tunnel at the construction site of Da Dang - Da Chomohydropower plant upon his arrival at the scene on the afternoon ofDecember 18.

At the site in Lat commune, LacDuong district, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, he assuredthe workers, including a woman that the maximum rescue efforts are beingmade to help them out as soon as possible.

Meeting with the rescue team, he praised their prompt and efficientcoordination but showing his impatience when learning the work mighttake three more days to reach the workers.

He askedthe team to continually reinforce the main tunnel to ensure safety forthe rescuers as well as the three hoses which are used to send oxygen,food, and drink, and as a communications line with the workers, whosehealth condition is stable.

The rescuers need tomake greater efforts, he said, asking for sending more personnel andmaking other geological researches to seek optimal solutions.

According to Nguyen Van Nen, Vice Chairman of the Lam Dong provincialPeople’s Committee, the team was drilling a hole from the top of thehill where the tunnel runs through, which went as deep as 40 meters outof 68 metres. The 10-centimeter hole would allow the sending of warmclothes and more food to the workers.

The rescueteam has been working around the clock. They were joined by experiencedengineers from the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group onDecember 18.

Medical facilities were set up outside the tunnel to provide medical care to the workers once they were brought out.

In the meantime, the Da Dang-Da Chomo hydropower project, whose construction kicked off in 2003, is halted.

The 475 trillion VND (22.6 billion USD) plant, invested by the CivilEngineering Construction Corp. No. 5 (CIENCO 5), is designed to have acapacity of 22 MW.

The collapsed site isabout 500 metres from the opening of the 700-m-long tunnel runningthough the mountain to bring water to the plant.

Thirty-two workers were in the tunnel when the collapse occurred and 20 of them were able to escape.-VNA

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