Pressure in the Tangjiashan barrier lake continues to build, raising the potential for further disaster. Feverish, round the clock efforts are underway to build a giant sluice to drain the lake before it's too late.
More than 10 excavators and bulldozers are at work non stop, all day and through the night. More equipment is being airlifted to the construction site by Mig-26 helicopters. Troop reinforcements continue to trek to the site to add their weight to the effort. Engineers, soldiers and workers take turns working in shifts.
The urgent objective is to complete the sluice as soon as possible. The lake had risen to 725.3 meters on Monday. That's just 26 meters below the barrier's lowest point. Downstream areas have been evacuated and people living in those areas removed to safety.
(CCTV May 27, 2008)
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