Elisa Menendez
GUARDIA Civil have announced it will take at least two more hours to reach little Julen.
It comes after miners encountered more quartzite this evening, which is said to be ‘one of the hardest minerals in the world’.
Rescuers will now have to carry out further controlled explosions – potentially two more – to disintegrate the rock and dig the final centimetres manually.
In order to make sure the explosions are performed safely, officials have stressed that the process will take at least a couple more hours.
“The process takes an hour and a half, and then we need to another half an hour to introduce air and evacuate,” said Guardia Civil spokesperson, Jorge Martin, reported La Vanguardia.
For each explosion, the miners have to dig a hole and go back to the surface.
Guardia Civil specialists go underground to set it and evacuate the area before detonating.
Following the explosion miners can continue with the digging.
It has been announced that it will be Guardia Civil specialists who rescue Julen out of the well.
Half of the world is waiting with baited breath to find out if the toddler is safe after being trapped down the well for 12 days.
The hashtag #MiManoAJulen is being used by thousands of Twitter users to share their solidarity.
Guardia Civil spokesman Martin is currently giving an update to emergency services at the scene.
