In the time-consuming salvage of Julen, which had fallen into a well shaft in Spain a week and a half ago, the final phase is approaching.
Specifically requested miners were waiting in Andalusian Totalán to work their way down to a depth of 70 to 80 meters in a horizontal tunnel to the point where the two-year-old was suspected. The chances of finding the child alive continue to wane.
The beginning of the manual digging had actually been planned on Tuesday, but the helpers had encountered new problems in securing and stabilizing the 80 meter deep parallel shaft. This had to be drilled in its lower part initially wider, which was then until Wednesday morning, reported media, citing the rescue services.
On Wednesday afternoon, the helpers were busy securing the rescue hole completely with metal pipes. Subsequently, the mine specialists should be able to start their work. When the use of the buddy should begin, was still unclear.
It was planned that the miners would be lowered into the parallel shaft by means of a special capsule attached to a crane. From the bottom of it, they were to dig a four-meter-long horizontal tunnel with picks and jackhammers to reach out to the child.
The men would have to work under extreme conditions, since at this depth not only space, but also light and oxygen are lacking, wrote the newspaper „La Vanguardia“. Depending on the hardness of the rock might also be smaller explosions needed, it said.
The boy had fallen on January 13 during a trip with his parents in the 107-meter deep, probably illegally dug in search of water shaft. This one has a tiny diameter of only 25 to 30 centimeters. Spanish television reported that local judicial authorities in Málaga have opened investigations to clarify the circumstances of the accident.
In total, around 300 helpers were on duty day and night to penetrate Julen. According to an initial report of the emergency response spokesman, Ángel García Vidal, 40,000 tons of material were drilled during the drilling. „Under normal circumstances, such an action would take months,“ he said.
