11 June 2009

Latest update on the Chongqing landslide

Posted by Dave Petley

The desperate rescue attempts continue at the site of the Chongqing landslide, but time is now clearly running out for the miners. The heavy lift helicopter, the same one that assisted at Tangjiashan, is now in full operation, and the drilling continues using 20 machines according to this report. The drilling operations have now reached 100 m below the surface and thus have reached the position of the portal. Unfortunately this appears to have collapsed (unsurprisingly). Additionally, the rescue teams have had to abandon their use of explosives due to the instability of the landslide mass.

There can be little hope for the trapped miners now, although it is still worth trying to get to them.

Meanwhile, according to this report the barrier lake volume has now reached 10,000 cubic metres (this is not a huge volume). Operations to lay a drainage pipe are ongoing.