Soldiers speed up work on barrier lake

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-31-2008 15:18

The largest quake lake in Sichuan - Tangjiashan - is about to be drained. More than a thousand troops have been working on it for 5 days. The scheme is aimed at preventing a massive flood. About 200,000 people living downstream have been evacuated.

The largest quake lake in Sichuan - Tangjiashan - is about to be drained. More than a thousand troops have been working on it for 5 days.

From the vantage point of the military helicopter we can have a clear look at the seat of Beichuan County, and observe how the earthquake’s fury turned the landscape into a nightmare.

The ruins are now virtually deserted and sealed off. Only special-purpose troops are working in the area now.

Tens of thousands of lives were lost in the debris down there. But for the survivors more uncertainty is still hanging over their fate as emergency personel warily but vigilantly monitor the largest quake lake.

You could call this place a worksite, but a battlefield is a better way to describe it. That's because you can find soldiers from almost all armed services here on a joint mission.

Their common enemy -- the largest barrier lake in the quake-struck region.

If the dam is breached, the160 million cubic meters of water in the lake means major devastation downstream. That is what the military has been trying to prevent from happening.

The plan is to first dig a channel -- about one third of the barrier's width. And then, upon its completion, blow up a section to create a trench that will allow the water to flow down at a controlled scale. But that’s easier said than done.

For the past five days, these diggers and bulldozers have been working 24 hours a day. They were air-dropped by the world’s largest helicopter, the Mi-26. By Saturday there were about 50 of them on site, with more on the way. But to keep them running fuel is critical.

Manning these machines are military engineers who blazed their way through bushes early this week. More than 1,300 troops are stationed near the quake-formed dam. They have not been able to rest since first arriving here. One major obstacle has been been hindering their progress.

"How are we doing so far?"

"It's OK. We have some problem. There are many rocks. It's more difficult than we expected."

"Are rocks your biggest headache?"

Zhang Dangsheng, Technician said "Yes. Many rocks are too big for the diggers. If we blow them up, we must cordon off an area and in that case, other machines would have to stop. We have applied the most advanced methods which is drilling a hole in the rock and using hydraulic pressure equipment to crack it up."

By Thursday, more than 70,000 cubic meters of earth had been dug. The target is 100,000 cubic meters.

Yue Xi, Commander of Tangjiashan Barrier Lake Contingent said "With our intensive efforts, the project has been going as planned so far. Overall, the process has been uneventful. And we are hopeful that the project will be finished as soon as possible."

At least 200, 000 people downstream have been evacuated, to safeguard against – any worst case scenario.

Editor:Xiong Qu