Why does Julen's rescue take so long?

The rescue work in Totalán, Spain is progressing - but in small steps. Within about 24 hours, miners have worked their way out of their rescue shaft about 2.5 by 3.8 meters to the well that presumes two-year-old Julen. Twelve days ago, the boy was said to have fallen on a Sunday trip with his parents into the almost 110 -meter-deep hole. Hundreds of rescue teams have since been working on a chord to rescue him.

Nevertheless, the work is delayed again and again. Three days after Julen's disappearance, it was said that the rescue services would advance to the two-year-old within 48 hours. That was not the only prognosis that proved too optimistic.

Since then, more than a week has passed, the child still has no sign of life. Why are the works so slow?

The conditions in use are extreme, was declared by the official side: Two in each case, the miners are lowered in a rescue capsule in the specially dug shaft near the well. After 30 minutes they will be replaced by the next team of two. Because of the narrowness, the men could dig only kneeling or lying, it was said. They are equipped with picks, jackhammers and oxygen masks.

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Illustration rescue shaft.

Speaking at a press conference, police spokesman Jorge Martín said at midday that the experts had to make three small explosions in the night and in the morning to make progress. Each individual blast took about 1.5 hours. "The mountain dictates our working rhythm," Martín said. With a helicopter more explosives should be brought to the place of use - even if it was announced in the meantime, no further explosions are necessary for the time being.

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The work of the task forces gets increasingly into the criticism. There are voices that Julen would have to be found long ago if the rescue workers did their job properly.

Francisco Delgado Bonilla, chairman of the Málaga Province Fire Brigade Association, has been involved in the rescue operation from the start. In the interview, he explains how it looks locally and comments on the allegations.

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Firefighters boss Delgado Bonilla

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Delgado Bonilla, how are the miners moving underground?

Delgado Bonilla: According to expectations. The soil in the horizontal excavation is unfortunately different than the vertical rescue shaft. We knew that the terrain would cause us difficulties. And of course we always have to guarantee the safety of everyone involved.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: In the beginning it was said that it would take 20 to 24 hours to dig the horizontal shaft.

Delgado Bonilla: We can not give time anymore. We have to be careful now and have patience. This task is complicated, the terrain is terribly hard. We can only hope that we will soon find softer material and move faster.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Many people criticize that the work goes too slowly.

Delgado Bonilla: These are people who sit at home on the sofa in peace. They do not know the reality we are constantly confronted with. It's easy to criticize out of ignorance. Anyone who criticizes should also know all the facts and data. There are no previous studies, no plans, we encounter problems here and we have to solve them, again and again. And there is a very large team working on it, professional people who understand and have some experience of their work. If you have solutions, you should like to recite them. I can not take criticism from afar seriously.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What are your next steps?

Delgado Bonilla: The miners have to get their work started. We have to lift the nearly four meters of the horizontal tunnel. Then we have to see what we are dealing with. Then it is decided how it goes on.