No. 109 tunnel cleared

Source: CCTV.com | 05-20-2008 11:16

Repair work along the paralyzed Baoji-Chengdu Railway continues. The outside area of the line's badly damaged NO. 109 tunnel has been cleared. Emergency workers are scrambling to pulls rail cars loaded with gasoline from the tunnel.

An inspection of the tunnel, by emergency crews reveals that many of the rail cars loaded with gasoline burned. Some actually exploded when the quake hit. The oil product from 4 of the 12 carriages was consumed in the ensuing fire.

The flames twisted and distorted the carriages, making it difficult for crews to extricate them from the tunnel.

Eight carriages loaded with gasoline were now out of the 109 tunnel.

Before the rest could be removed, emergency workers re-entered the tunnel to clear away fallen rocks and debris.

One rescue worker said "We can see that the clearing work remains dangerous at a certain level. But we feel confident there is little danger the tunnel will collapse. Just before we went in, we checked the upper part and cleared away the fallen rock."

If the gasoline in the carriages were not burnt out, emergency workers were prepared to syphon out the remaining oil and then begin the extraction process.

After hours of effort, 10 of the 12 carriages loaded with gasoline had been retrieved.

Editor:Xiong Qu