Florida Police Are Investigating Newly Discovered Tunnel Leading to a Bank

Fox News
By Fox News
January 30, 2019US News
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Florida Police Are Investigating Newly Discovered Tunnel Leading to a Bank
Police investigating underground tunnel at a Pembroke Pines bank in Miami, Fla. on Jan. 30, 2019. (Screenshot/Fox)

Police in Florida investigating a newly discovered underground tunnel.

According to police, the tunnel found in Pembroke Pines on Jan. 30 leads to a nearby chase bank.
Some in the neighborhood hearing the news are calling it a brazen act.

“That is just brazen,” said Lois Benjamin, a local resident. “Just brazen if that happens, it’s just a brazen thing to do. And I hope they will catch that individual or those individuals.

NTD Photo
Lois Benjamin, a resident of Pembroke Pines in Miami, Fla. on Jan. 30, 2019. (Screenshot/Fox)

The resident hopes that the incident is just a false alarm.

“I think this is crazy,” said Benjamin. “It’s really crazy. I mean there is a lot of work going on here, so I am just hoping that it’s a false thing going onit may not come out to anything. I am hoping for that.”

The tunnel was discovered after a car hit a large pot-hole near the bank’s drive through ATM.

Spanish Rescuers Start Drilling to Reach Boy Trapped in Well

TOTALAN, Spain—Rescuers in southern Spain began drilling on Jan. 19, in hopes of rescuing a two-year-old boy trapped in a deep well for six days.

The mission to save the child has triggered an outpouring of public support as rescuers struggle with the challenge of bringing heavy equipment up steep access roads and reaching the toddler safely.

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General view of the area where Julen, a Spanish two-year-old boy fell into a deep well six days ago when the family was taking a stroll through a private estate, in Totalan, southern Spain, on Jan. 19, 2019. (Jon Nazca/Reuters)

“We are incredibly motivated to reach him as soon as possible. We’re not bothered by the hours, the tiredness or the lack of sleep,” Angel Vidal, the lead engineer overseeing the rescue, said on Saturday.

“We are hopeful that we will reach him as soon as possible and bring him back to his parents,” he added.

The boy, Julen, fell into the borehole, which is just 10 inches (25 cm) wide and 100 yards (meters) deep, as his family walked through a private estate in Totalan, Malaga.

Officials have been unable to find signs of life but say they are working on the basis that the child is still alive. Video footage shot by firefighters and released by Spanish broadcaster Canal Sur shows a blockage around 70 meters into the well which has prevented rescue services from sending food or water to the child.

Trucks brought drilling equipment and giant pipes to the site on Friday. Drilling of the first of two tunnels that will be made to reach the boy began at around 3 p.m. local time and will take around 15 hours, officials said.

Once the first tunnel is completed, rescuers will begin working by hand to construct a second shorter tunnel to reach the area where the boy is trapped, which will take a further 20 hours.

NTD Photo
Idle diggers and trucks are seen after removing sand at the area where Julen, a Spanish two-year-old boy fell into a deep well six days ago when the family was taking a stroll through a private estate, in Totalan, southern Spain, on Jan. 19, 2019. (Jon Nazca/Reuters)

Residents of the town have held vigils for Julen and in support of his family.

Spanish media say the boy’s parents suffered another tragedy in 2017 when their 3-year-old son died suddenly of health problems while walking along a beach.

“Be strong, Julen. Totalan is with you,” read a handmade banner hung on the roadside near the rescue site.

“We are living some incredibly difficult hours for relatives, friends, and neighbors (of the family) and we want to send them our support in this moment,” government spokeswoman Isabel Celaa said on Friday in a news conference.

By Sam Edwards

Reuters contributed to this article

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