Hydroelectric tunnel collapse: On the night of December 18, water in the tunnel rose abnormally.

Last night (December 18), water in the tunnel rose abnormally while the drainage pumps were still operating normally.

Rescue work is being carried out urgently.

Last night (December 18), the water in the tunnel rose abnormally while the drainage pumps were still operating normally. This could easily cause panic among the victims trapped in the tunnel. Currently, the main tunnel approach is still the fastest and most feasible.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, Representative of Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group, one of the tunnel construction units to reach the victims, said: “Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group is constructing a rescue route on the right side of the tunnel and the construction solution up to this point has been determined to be a reasonable solution. The unit arranged 6 construction teams, each team of 7 people. The rescue force mobilized are miners, officers, and employees with experience in coal mines in Quang Ninh area.

Up to this point, in terms of tunnel meters, we have dug over 12 meters and hopefully, if there are no unusual developments, in the shortest time, we will continue to implement solutions to approach the location where the victim is trapped and bring the victim to a safe location.

According to the information we received during the tunnel construction, the workers trapped in the tunnel are in stable health and have been able to communicate with each other.

It is forecasted that in the next 3 days, there will be no rain in Lac Duong district, Lam Dong and this will help rescue work to be carried out more conveniently.

Graphics of rescue efforts for victims:

For many hours after that, a large rescue force of Lam Dong tried to reach the victims but failed. By 7:40 p.m., everyone had penetrated a 3cm pipe through the collapsed earth and rock mass about 30 meters long. Joy broke out when through the air pipe, everyone heard the voices of the victims trapped inside echoing out. They said they were still safe, very cold and very hungry, the leaking water was blocked by the collapsed earth and rock mass and was rising. The 12 victims were completely isolated from the outside world. In front of them was a mass of earth, rock, mud... flowing for dozens of meters. The remaining 3 sides were tunnel walls covered by a large hill. The only tool for them to receive milk porridge, oxygen and transmit messages to the outside was this air pipe.

For many hours after that, a large rescue force of Lam Dong tried to reach the victims but failed. By 7:40 p.m., everyone had penetrated a 3cm pipe through the collapsed earth and rock mass about 30 meters long. Joy broke out when through the air pipe, everyone heard the voices of the victims trapped inside echoing out. They said they were still safe, very cold and very hungry, the leaking water was blocked by the collapsed earth and rock mass and was rising. The 12 victims were completely isolated from the outside world. In front of them was a mass of earth, rock, mud... flowing for dozens of meters. The remaining 3 sides were tunnel walls covered by a large hill. The only tool for them to receive milk porridge, oxygen and transmit messages to the outside was this air pipe.

At this time, the water in the tunnel where the victims were trapped was up to 1.4 m. The first priority of the rescue team was to pump the water out as soon as possible. At 8:30 p.m., the rescue team at the scene drilled a second pipe about 6 cm wide inside and in the early morning of December 18, another pipe was successfully drilled. However, the third pipe was penetrated but the victims did not open the valve, so this method was ineffective. After a whole day of operation, the small pipe was able to pump almost all the water out. The rescue team assessed this as the most successful point in the rescue work on the third day.

All three drilling directions from the front (creating a tunnel through the collapsed area), behind and above continued to be carried out to reach the location of the 12 victims. On the third day, another plan was carried out to drill an additional tunnel along the left side according to the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

At 5 p.m. on December 18, after drilling 40 meters from the top of the hill out of 70 meters, the drill bit broke. The rescue team had to move to another location and start drilling again. This drilling direction is considered very important because it will be the "supply" line for warm clothes for the victims trapped inside the tunnel. Meanwhile, the side tunnel along the right side has gone 6 meters, the left side 2 meters; the tunnel downstream is 47 meters. "According to calculations, if the rescue team digs 8 meters each day, it will take another three days to rescue the victims. Currently, all the most modern equipment has been mobilized to save people," said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

According to VTV/ VnExpress