Liu Yang and the others were busy on this side, and the drainage work on the eastern front was also intensified. Just when Liu Yang and the others were digging the tunnel to more than 50 meters, two more large water pumps started operating there.
The water in the alleyway was slowly declining, but both the seventeen people on Lin Xiaobing's side and the more than a hundred and ten people on Wang Zengtian's side had reached the limit of their lives.
Five days have passed from midnight on the 23rd to now.
Without food or drink, a person's life would be in danger in just three days. And now, five days and 120 hours have passed. Is anyone still alive inside
The strong young men following behind could almost fall asleep leaning against the wall. Their faces smeared with black ash and their sunken eye sockets were silently telling them that they were tired. limit.
Twenty meters to go…
Qiu Huiquan pointed to the drawing and said to Liu Yang: "After the survey just now, this passage can be opened up to 20 meters away..."
This old man has always been regarded as the national treasure giant panda. When people like Liu Yang were working, they would not let him get involved at all. He would rest while others were working. He was only asked to come forward when they encountered technical problems. Logically speaking, he should be the most energetic among the fifty commandos below, but now Liu Yang looked a little depressed when he looked at him. That complaint came to my lips and I swallowed it back.
Grandma, when you were scratching for me above, didn't you say it was only 60 meters? Why is it that after digging more than 50 meters, there are still 20 meters left
Come on, old guy, your increase of ten meters or ten meters will kill people.
If this were on flat ground, let alone a distance of meters, even if it was a 20-meter steel mountain, I would not take it seriously. But this is nearly 700 meters underground, and every meter forward requires a lot of effort. Paying the price of blood and sweat is no joke.
Looking at the drawings in Qiu Huiquan's hand, Liu Yang asked him: "I was wondering if we could drill a small hole in the alleyway in front of us first. Although people can't climb out, it would be good to find a way to send air in. If we can It would be better to send water and food in through pipelines, which would buy more time for rescue."
Qiu Huiquan shook his head and said solemnly: "This is a good idea, but it is almost impossible. If you drill a hole according to your idea, you will need to use large drilling machinery, but you also know..."
Qiu Huiquan stopped talking when he said this. Liu Yang looked at the dark cave in front and couldn't help but reveal a wry smile. Because the tunnel was tied up and opened, the tunnel they excavated has become a trumpet shape.
At the beginning, the channel could still be kept at two meters wide and 1.76 meters high. However, the further you go inside, the width and height become smaller and smaller. Now it is only a little more than one meter high, and the width is less than half a meter.
In such an environment, it is just enough for people to drill inside. It is impossible to replace it with a larger electric drill.
"I think that if we reduce the amount of medicine used and make the holes smaller, we can speed up the progress... However, in that case, the strength will increase for those who transport cinders. Now most people use bags Carrying coal has worn out my shoulders, but the general headquarters said there are no replacement personnel for us. I'm afraid those young men won't be able to support it..." Qiu Huiquan glanced behind him. Behind him, those young men covered in black Some of them were snoring against the wall.
"This is a problem, but since there is a glimmer of hope, we still have to try our best. Those people trapped inside are all our brothers." Liu Yang glanced at the rescue team behind him , said in a low voice.
Qiu Huiquan reached out and patted Liu Yang on the shoulder, and said affectionately: "Brother, as the head of a county, you are a real man, not just a showman. I see all this. If you hadn't been in front , Our tunnel cannot be dug so fast, and now, we still need you to stand up and speak."
"Hey, Mr. Qiu, please stop praising me. I just do things based on my conscience." Liu Yang said, steeling himself and standing up, and rubbed his temples hard with his hands full of foam. , shouted loudly: "Everyone, wake up..."
The sound of "crackling" and "creeping" as the pillars were twisted under the heavy pressure could be heard in the ears, and from time to time there were "thumping... dangdang" small pieces of coal and gravel hitting the top of the head. Sounds in the ceiling. All the people gathered in front of Liu Yang, and the expressions on the faces of all the rescue team members became very solemn.
This is a test of blood and fire, a battle of fear and professional ethics. The power of role models is infinite. It was precisely because Liu Yang was at the forefront that none of these rescue team members became deserters.
However, these people are not stupid young people like Liu Yang. They have been confirmed by being selected to participate in this rescue activity. They are all top-notch people in this industry and are the backbone of the industry who are proficient in business.
They understood very well that this was the first time they had ever excavated tunnels like this. Every step forward requires a test of blood and fire, and a hundredfold courage.
"Comrades, I won't hide it from you. Just now our Chief Engineer Qiu told me that after his detailed calculations, there is still a distance of twenty meters ahead, and we can open this passage of life. Inside, one hundred and thirty More than a dozen lives are waiting for us to rescue them. Going forward is dangerous but there is also hope of rescuing those workers. Going back, the safety of us people can be guaranteed, but those more than a hundred lives will be lost forever. They sleep underground accompanied by more than 700 meters of darkness. Thinking about the worried and desperate eyes of their wives, children, and children outside the mine gate, comrades, it is heartbreaking. What should we do, you say?" Liu Yang also followed suit. Qiu Huiquan looked like he was mobilizing before the war. He knew that there would be no way to win this battle if he did not mobilize the rescue team members and erase the fear in their hearts.
"County Magistrate Liu, just give the order and we will complete the task." Although these voices were low and hoarse, they spoke extremely firmly.
Finally getting a response from the team members, Liu Yang felt relieved.
Turning around, he said to Qiu Huiquan: "Chief Engineer Qiu, I will leave the professional matters to you. We will do whatever you say. I will be with everyone. As long as there is still one person here who does not go up, I will not Will leave. Just give the order!"
Qiu Huiquan was also excited, and shouted loudly in his old voice: "County Magistrate Liu, don't worry, if you don't get the people inside out, I will not be my father's son. I said, we are trapped in here." They are all people who go down the well like us. County Magistrate Liu could have been sitting in the office drinking tea. Why is he standing here regardless of the danger? Isn’t it for us miners who work hard? There are four of us together Groups, each group takes turns working for half an hour, and the electric drills are not resting. The drill bits, water pipes, detonators, and explosives are all ready. Let's work now... "
With that said, Qiu Huiquan started to name the groups, and he was the first to pick up the electric drill.
The vibration of the electric drill caused the coal blocks above his head to fall more densely, and some of them hit the safety helmet Qiu Huiquan was wearing. However, Qiu Huiquan did not move at all and still held the handle of the electric drill tightly.
At the beginning, the drilling and blasting went smoothly. However, when they dug more than three meters forward, Liu Yang and the others encountered new problems. When a young man held an electric drill and drilled at a certain point for five minutes, the drill bit could not penetrate.
Try another place... the situation is still the same. Qiu Huiquan brought a foreign pickaxe and dug out a streak of sparks on the dark wall. This phenomenon told everyone that he had encountered a hard stone ahead.
No wonder that every time the electric drill was turned on, the hands of the rescue team member holding the drill were numb from the shock, but the drill pipe never moved any further.
what to do? It's really frustrating to stop like this. But everyone knows that drilling in rocks is a hundred times more difficult than drilling in coal seams.
Everyone looked at me and I looked at you, and no one was speechless for a moment. Liu Yang, who had just gone down to take a rest, got the news and rushed over from behind again, saying loudly: "Change the drill bit, let me try..."
Liu Yang reached out and took over the drill, holding the handles on both sides tightly with both hands. After pressing the power switch, a huge rebound force came along the drill pipe. Liu Yang bent down and pushed forward with both hands. Electric drill.
One minute... ten minutes... The electric drill finally moved forward a little bit. Half an hour... an hour... Liu Yang stayed in this position. Except for taking out all the drill pipes and changing the drill bits, Liu Yang held the electric drill and drilled for a full hour and a half.
Finally, I felt the front end loosen up, and the electric drill no longer screamed muffled, as if it had caught its breath, and started chirping happily again.
"County Magistrate Liu, take a rest and I'll drill." How much effort does it take to drill through such a hard rock
Qiu Huiquan knew it, and so did the other rescue team members. At this moment, the eyes of the rescue team members looking at Liu Yang had changed. Is this man really made of cast iron
There are two rescue team members standing behind Liu Yang, waiting for Liu Yang to give up his position and they will immediately take over. However, none of them felt that due to Liu Yang's drilling, a piece of rock above their heads that was already loose finally couldn't bear the gravity of the earth and fell down.
"Go away..." As Liu Yang yelled, the rock cracked with an overwhelming sound. The big black stone fell down on the three people standing below.
When ordinary people encounter danger, their first reaction is often to remain motionless in a daze. It is precisely because of this instinctive reaction, that is, a few tenths of a second of being stunned, that can kill someone...