China

Rescuers free worker from sea shaft

By Wang Zhenghua (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-22 07:47

SHANGHAI - A worker was rescued on Sunday afternoon after being stuck in a deformed steel shaft 18 meters under the surface of the sea for around 77 hours in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province.

Fan Shengjia, a native of Central China's Hubei province, was working in the 24-meter protective shaft for Jiaxing power plant on Thursday morning when a flood tide suddenly increased the hydraulic pressure, leaving the shaft seriously deformed.

Fan, who was unhurt, was trapped in an open space at the bottom of the shaft.

The butt of the shaft, about 1 meter in diameter, was connected to a pile of solid cement laid in the underwater sludge, hindering the rescue effort.

"The progress has been slow due to complex geological conditions," an unidentified rescue worker was quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency. "The deformed section, (starting from) about two to four meters under the sea surface, has been squeezed to only 3 centimeters wide at the narrowest part."

In line with the rescue plan, a supportive steel holder was installed around the cylinder to ensure a mobile crane could pull it out of water. The cement column was also cut off the seabed.

More than 50 people participated in the rescue operation, including 17 divers responsible for cutting off the foundation column underwater. In addition, a psychologist was called in to provide counseling for Fan.

Chocolates, eggs and hot milk were provided to the trapped worker through a flexible pipe, while oxygen was put in through another pipe. Fan's requests for cigarettes and liquor were also fulfilled.

In order to ensure Fan remained conscious and confident that he would be rescued, his wife and colleagues kept talking to him in turns through the cylinder, where a heater was installed to keep Fan warm.

In the last few minutes of the rescue effort, which was broadcast live on China Central Television (CCTV) on Sunday afternoon, the shaft was lifted steadily out of water in about 30 minutes.

Rescuers then used welding torches to cut a hatch on the tube to drain off the water before larger passages were ripped open while the tube was held upright by the crane on the working platform.

Fan, wearing a helmet and eyeshades, was seen emerging from the opening on the cylinder unharmed. He was immediately taken away in an ambulance to the Pinghu No 2 People's Hospital.

An initial investigation indicates that the shaft was not fit for use.

Cai Jianping, vice-president of Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group Company, told the local Qianjiang Evening News that the shaft was not a seamless bar but welded together by smaller ones.

Lying in the hospital, Fan said though he was a little scared, he was confident and optimistic that the government and his colleagues would rescue him.

"I smoked and drank alcohol (in the tube) as usual," he added.

"Fan's condition is stable and his mood is upbeat," Yan Shengli, a doctor at the Pinghu No 2 People's Hospital, said.

China Daily