Rescue teams in Vietnam are studying new options this Wednesday during the rescue operation of a 10-year-old boy trapped for four days in a 35-meter-deep concrete pile.
Thai Ly Hao Nam went with three neighbors to collect metal at a bridge construction site in Dong Thap province, in the south of the country, when they fell into a hollow concrete pile barely 25 centimeters in diameter.
The construction security cameras capture the moment in which the boy suddenly disappears after falling down the hole while walking on the uneven ground in the area.
After removing part of the earth surrounding the pile with the idea of extracting it, the teams abandoned the plan due to the possibility that it could break, reports the news portal VnExpress.
Now, the mission, in which Vietnamese soldiers participate, seeks to place a steel pillar 1.5 meters in diameter around the pile where the minor is trapped.
The objective is to remove the remains of earth at the bottom of the pile -which is closed at the lower end- to reduce friction and then use cranes and specialized equipment to lift the cement pillar, reports the Tuoi Tre newspaper.
“Despite the tremendous effort, (the rescue has not finished yet) since it is an unusual scenario and the rescue conditions are extremely unfavorable. According to the plan, after the pile is extracted, the military engineers will determine the child’s position and they will cut the pillar to remove it,” engineer brigade lieutenant colonel Tran Minh Cong told the outlet.
Since the accident occurred, before noon on Saturday, some 350 rescuers, including police officers and firefighters, have gone to the scene to rescue the minor and pump oxygen into the hole so that he can continue breathing and send him water.
According to Tuoi Tre, the authorities are not sure about the health of the little boy, who has stopped interacting with the rescuers.