1
- Hi.
- Good morning.
This is a self-contained breathing
apparatus, a chemical oxygen system...
...made to survive in an environment
where there is fire or polluting gas.
To use it, you just need to open
here.
You put this one in your mouth.
You breathe from the nose.
Three times. Your breathing
apparatus is ready to use.
And now you have 30 minutes to
escape...
...or one hour to rest,
waiting for the rescue.
Good morning.
- Hi, guys. Hello.
- Hi.
Do you want a piece of Danish pastry?
Yeah. It's for you. Look.
I'm Rie. I'm here today
to document the intervention.
- You have to translate.
- It's for intervention.
And it's also me who does the
portraits on the green walls.
- Have you seen those?
- No, I haven't.
They are portraits of guys
like you working down here.
- Do you speak English?
- A little. We speak Italian.
Thank you so much.
Hey... Un caff?
- Coffee?
- Yeah.
Thank you. Cheers.
It's good. Strong.
- Maybe I can ask you some questions?
- Yes.
What's the best thing about your
job?
Um... What do you like the most?
It could be friendships...
...meeting people from all over the
world, or the machine.
- Yes.
- Yeah? Okay.
Are your proud to be part of a
project...
...that's made to last
for hundreds of years?
- Yes.
- You are? Yeah.
Could you say this is a
smaller version of Europe...
...working together
to build something amazing?
- Yes.
- Yes. Thank you.
So, always the same shit.
I had this Skype thing
with my wife last night.
She was looking through the
screen, not paying attention.
- Maybe she was tired.
- No, she's just ungrateful.
- She said she needed more money.
- Maybe she needs the money.
Bharan! When I tell you
to hold the pipe, hold the pipe!
Hold it. There. You finish.
- Are you okay?
- I'm okay. Finish.
Hello. What are you doing?
We just fix the leak on the air
line before the intervention.
Are you doing
the hyperbaric intervention?
Yes, I maintain the cutterhead.
You must be Ivo, then.
And you are?
- I'm Bharan.
- Rie. Can I ask you some questions?
Please change your clothes.
So what do you want to know?
- What's the best thing about your job?
- Money.
Okay. And what's the worst?
- Being away from home.
- Do you have a family back in Italy?
- No, in Rijeka. I'm from Croatia.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
- Do you have any children?
- Two.
My girl, Frida. She's 16. No, 17
now.
- And my boy, Toma. He's 21.
- What's it like to be away from them?
It's okay. I go home for
one week every three months.
- That must be hard.
- Hard?
It's what you do
to put food on the table.
Are you going to write that and
put it on the walls up there?
- "Ivo never sees his kids"?
- No, that's not what I'm looking for.
Okay, listen.
Me and my wife, we have a simple
deal.
She takes care of the kids, I take care
of the money. We are both very happy.
Might I see the hyperbaric
chamber?
Sure. You just go in the front and
wait for me. I'll be back in a moment.
Can I take a picture of you?
No, can you sit like you did
before, with the helmet down? Yeah.
Okay. Great.
- So where are you from?
- I'm from Eritrea.
- Do you have any family in Eritrea?
- I do.
Children, or wife, or...
No. I have a nephew.
He's four years old.
- And I miss him so much.
- Yeah, I can imagine.
- So how often do you see him?
- I can't really see him right now.
- We have a...
- Why not?
We have a political problem
in our country.
Oh, I'm sorry. Are you a
refugee?
I'm down here to do some portraits
of you guys working here...
...so I'm just looking for
stories with a human angle.
A positive story, maybe like
yours?
A young guy coming here to work
on this huge European project...
...and find a good life.
- Hi, Ivo.
- Hey, Adrian.
- Let me go down.
- All right.
- Welcome to my office.
- Thanks.
And what is it exactly that you
do?
Well, today, before we make a
break through to another station...
...we do an inspection
of the cutterhead, you see?
And this big thing here is our
cutters.
- How close are we to the next station?
- Not far. The concrete is like this.
The engineers do a good job with
their computers and lasers...
...but they still need me to crawl
into the cutterhead under pressure...
...and change the cutters
with my bare hands almost.
- Not a lot of people can do that.
- Without you, no Metro?
Ah, no. Every job on
the team is important.
Could I take some pictures
during the hyperbaric?
Go inside the hyperbaric?
No, you have to have a permission.
- I'm authorised to go anywhere I want.
- But it's not exactly comfortable.
I mean, it's like diving.
The pressure.
No offence, it's not a job for a...
- For an office person.
- I don't mind. I've dived before.
Well, actually, we are only doing the
inspection. So it's pretty simple.
I guess there will be space for you to
take a few pictures and make me famous.
- Sure.
- Okay. Don't go anywhere.
Watch out.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- I'm going in the intervention.
- You are?
- Yeah. Should I be scared?
- No, no. It's safe.
- Do you need help with anything?
- No, I'm okay.
You and Ivo seem to be good
friends.
We are. He showed me
how to do the intervention.
It's better money than the
regular work.
I'm sorry. Thank you.
- I guess we can all use extra money.
- Yeah.
What's the best thing about...
working here?
Okay, kids, let's go!
- Ready?
- Yes, very much.
Can I take a picture of you?
Okay. Perfect.
- Now it's your turn. Your turn.
- My turn? Okay.
Do it, baby. Come on, do
it.
- Yeah, that's great.
- Okay. Thank you.
All right. So...
Take this.
You have to stay hydrated all the time.
Remember:
Keep compensating all the time.
When we get the go from Adrian...
...I open the door, check for the gas.
I go in, get the job done and get out.
You must never go into the cutter, okay?
This chamber must never be entered.
- We're good to go.
- Okay!
- All right. Are you coming out?
- No, I'm staying and taking pictures.
- You're joking.
- She'll put that picture everywhere.
- I've only got two cylinders of oxygen.
- Do you need oxygen inside?
No, it's for the decompression when we
go out on the train. Ivo, you know this.
- Does she even have a medical?
- Do you have a medical?
I've done some diving in Thailand,
and I'm authorised to go anywhere I want.
I can't take responsibility for tourists.
So please, come on, out. Okay?
- Sorry.
- This is unacceptable.
What the fuck did I do?
She's from the office.
- Okay, Ivo?
- Okay!
Pressurising now.
- Can I look through the window?
- Yeah, just one moment.
Okay. There you go. You can have
a look.
Ivo, we're at 1.9 bar. Can you check
the air line for the gas detector?
- I'm putting the gas line in.
- Stand by. Checking the gas.
There. Come on. Come on.
- Okay, Ivo. Good to go.
- Okay.
Okay. Finished.
- I'm opening the door.
- Okay, I receive. Opening the door.
The door is open.
Can we change over?
I need the control panel. Come here...
Squeeze in... Yeah. Excellent.
- Cutter number three is dead.
- Okay.
Cutter number three. We'll have to
do a full intervention next time.
No, we can make it and
give her something to write about.
- You know better.
- I've already taken it down.
Okay. But we have to be quick, Ivo.
We have to be very quick.
Let's do it.
- TBM pilot. Adrian.
- This is TBM pilot.
TBM pilot,
we're changing cutter number three.
Copy that.
- What's it like out there, in the...
- Inside the cutterhead?
It's not the nicest of places. I'm
happy they're in there and I'm outside.
Okay. That's enough.
- Ivo, how is it going in there?
- Everything's fine. Why?
- We have a CO alarm outside. Stand by.
- What?
Stand by. Maybe you have to come
in.
Standing by, okay.
What kind of alarm is that?
Luca!
- Luca!
- What's going on?
A CO alarm. I'm not sure why.
Ivo, Ivo. Abort, abort.
Come inside the chamber.
- I can't just leave it here.
- Come inside. Fucking close the door!
- Closing the door.
- Is it serious?
Go inside.
Look! Down there.
Luca! What's going on down there?
Why is there smoke?
What's the smoke behind the machine?
What's going on? We have a fire.
Put this on and go into
the refuge chamber, okay?
Put that on and go
to the back of the machine.
- Where is it? Show me.
- I can't go anywhere.
Go down to the back of the TBM.
- Listen! I don't know where it is!
- Come back here.
Get inside.
Close the door. I'll put the air on.
Everything will be fine. Close the door.
Adrian!
Hey!
- Hey, can you hear me?
- Okay.
Hey!
Hey, can you hear me?
- There's someone here.
- Hey!
- What are you doing in there?
- I don't know.
- Where's Adrian? What happened?
- I don't know.
- Just try to relax.
- Hey!
Stand where you are.
You'll be safe now. Look at me.
We'll get the fire under control.
We'll get us out. Just breathe normally.
- I'll be back.
- Okay.
Everything's fine.
I'm okay. Everything is fine.
Hey. Hey!
- It's getting warmer in here.
- It's okay. Relax. It's normal.
Come on, it says over fifty.
It says over...
- Is your chamber on external air?
- I don't know.
The fire is heating the air.
Over there. Close the valve.
I need to get into your room.
Open the door, please.
- I can't because of the pressure.
- What?
The pressure. We need time to
equalise.
We need time to equalise. Wait.
- Compensate!
- Okay.
My ears!
- Open the door!
- You have to open the door!
It's stuck!
Come on!
Okay.
Take her. Help her.
Are you okay?
Did you see something?
Anything?
- What did Adrian say?
- He just put me in the room.
- You need to tell me everything.
- I don't know anything.
- Why put you in a medical chamber?
- He just pushed me in.
- Can we use that phone?
- It's not working.
Yeah. I'm pretty sure the cables
in the tunnel have melted.
- You had a walkie.
- It's not working.
There's no power, no phone, no radio.
It's all burned. Okay?
- But we have power.
- Emergency batteries.
Are we gonna die here?
- There are safety measures.
- So are we gonna die in here?
They'll stop the fire and get us
out.
- What if everybody's dead?
- They're not. Trust me.
- You don't know
- Calm down, both of you.
There's nothing we can do, okay?
The only thing we can do is wait.
We share the oxygen. And you are
taking more than your fair share.
Just calm the fuck down. Sit
down.
Try to relax. Please.
You too. Sit down.
- They will come, right?
- Yeah.
Stop it, please.
- Don't drink so much.
- I'm not even thirsty.
We can put gasoline in the
water.
- Why?
- So we can drink less.
- But we have a lot of water.
- Not a lot of water.
You know, when I was traveling from
Sudan to Libya. It was in the desert...
I was in a pickup truck with so
many people, and there was no place.
So they threw all of the water away,
and they put some gasoline in the rest.
- Who did that?
- The drivers.
- Why?
- They have to, so we can drink less.
- How does it... feel?
- It feels horrible.
It makes you hate to drink water.
You make yourself calm.
Because if you're not,
you'll drink and hurt yourself.
So if you'll stop...
- Answer it!
- You have signal?
PICK UP!
No, it's...
I'm supposed to pick up my
daughter in half an hour.
You have a daughter?
For how long do we all have
oxygen?
- Don't worry about it.
- But how long?
I don't know. Two hours. Ten.
I'm not a diving technician.
Hey, please sit down. Please sit
down.
- Don't touch that.
- It doesn't make sense to sit down.
Don't touch that.
It's too risky to go outside.
- Why?
- The fire might be sleeping.
What do you mean, sleeping?
If it's used up all the oxygen,
it's sleeping.
And if you let the air out from in here,
you might feed the fire and wake it up.
- Are you sure about that?
- No, I'm only a mechanic.
Maybe they think we're dead.
Did you think about that?
- Maybe they don't know we're in here.
- They know we're here, right?
- They won't come by.
- This is the safest place in the TBM.
It is. This is the safest place
for now.
Even if they come to get us,
it might be too late.
Did you consider that?
We must think this through.
I know! I know.
Relax. Save the oxygen, okay?
- We have to do something.
- Let's think it through. Calm down.
Let me think.
That's it, like this.
Like this.
This is the cutterhead.
This is the airlock. We're in here.
So let's presume
that there is no fire anymore.
One of us...
Yeah, one of us will have to
decompress in the medical chamber...
...go out, down the ladders, pass the
pistons, under the segment crane.
And here is a box,
a fireproof box full of self-rescue kits.
- You mean the breathers?
- You know what it is?
So if one of us could find his way
through the smoke, and hold his breath...
...he might be able to pick up
one breather...
...put it on, take a few more
and come back.
- What about decompression?
- Yeah, it would have to be... quick.
- That's the problem.
- What's the problem?
When you decompress quickly, you get
bubbles in your blood. It fucks you up.
Also, coming back is impossible.
You would have to go back...
...in the medical chamber,
do a compression and decompression.
- It's suicide.
- Okay. So we all go.
Even if you get to the box,
the breathers might be gone.
The crew probably got them.
- So we stay.
- Yeah.
It's our best chance.
Okay?
We stay.
I forgot about her.
I didn't think about her once
before the alarm.
Like she didn't exist in my
mind.
I would have thought if something like
this happened, I would think of her.
- Is that her?
- Yeah.
- She is beautiful.
- Yeah.
- Is it recording?
- You can see your hair.
- Are your hands cold?
- No, not really.
- Did you remember to zip your jacket?
- Yes.
My sister has a kid too, the
same age.
Maybe one day, they will meet.
Yeah.
You have kids too, right, Ivo?
Two kids, right?
It is weird.
You just don't understand.
I mean, how can you forget your
own kid?
My kids are always in my head.
Always in the back of my head.
What kind of person are
you?
- What are you doing?
- I...
Maybe we should let some
of the oxygen in here.
Good idea.
I have to pee. I'll go in there,
okay?
- Can I have some privacy?
- Yeah, sure.
Fuck!
- Are you okay in there?
- Yeah, I'm just moving some stuff.
Okay.
What the fuck are you doing?
What is this shit?
Get out.
- Get out!
- Stop touching me!
- Ivo, don't!
- You steal the oxygen.
- My oxygen!
- Ivo, stop!
Ivo!
Take her hand.
You get back in there. Get back!
Here. Tie her to the cutter.
- Come on, do it.
- Why?
Do it. Tie her.
No, please.
Please...
Why didn't you tell us
about the breather?
I don't know.
- You would just leave us?
- I'm sorry.
- My daughter only has me.
- Shut up.
We should just kill her.
Save the oxygen.
- She needs me.
- My kids need me! They need me!
They need me! They need me,
Bharan.
They need me. They need...
I'm down here in this fucking
hole, so they can have a good life.
We're all gonna die if we stay.
One of us should take the breather and go.
- And come back?
- Yeah. Yeah, I can do it.
- You said it was impossible.
- Just shut up. Shut up!
With the breather,
I can get to the box.
Speak English.
Don't you leave us. Bharan!
- They might come.
- If we stay, we all die!
- I can do it, Bharan. I can do it.
- Don't leave me.
Just wait.
Ivo, please...
Hey!
My family needs me too.
I owe them a lot of money. You know.
I'll come back. Okay?
Please, Ivo. You said it was impossible.
You said...
- Ivo, you can't leave us, please!
- Listen, listen!
- Light.
- Hey!
Hey!
They've come. We're
safe!
Calm down.
- How many are you?
- Three.
- Is everybody okay?
- Yeah!
Team Two to dive leader...
Everybody's fine!
Is anyone hurt?
Please, is anyone hurt?
I can see the third one now.
She's conscious.
We have zero casualties.
- We're running out of air!
- Relax. We are going to open the door.
- We have to dump the pressure!
- You have to do it from the inside.
You have to decompress very fast.
Do you understand?
Team Two here.
Ready to evacuate.
Okay.
- Dump the pressure.
- Okay. Okay.
Everybody, let's lie down.
Lie down.
Straighten out.
Why do you owe your family
money?
I was travelling, and I got
kidnapped.
So my family found the money
to get me out.
Now they don't have anything...
because of me.
- How much money is it?
- It's too much.
8,000 dollars.
I can pay that.
I'll give you the money when we
get out.
Thank you.
Hello!
Hello!
Repeat.
We're working on it. We're at 0.8 bar.
What?
- We can't leave them.
- I don't understand.
Roger. Standing by.
Hey, what's going on?
Okay, we're moving out.
We have to go back.
- Wait. Stay here!
- We will get you out.
- We will be back.
- Wait. Don't...
The cutterhead!
Light, give me light!
Hurry!
Come up! Come up.
Ivo!
- Help.
- Ivo?
Hey. Hey, Ivo.
Hey, hey.
You have to tell
them...
Do you understand?
You have to tell them...
What, Ivo? What?
Tell them...
that all I did was for them.
I don't understand. I don't
understand!
No. No.
Ivo. Ivo!
Ivo?
Ivo?
Bharan! Bharan,
we're close to the station.
Aren't we close to the station?
We can dig our way in the mud.
Can you...
If we found a way...
Bharan! Bharan, there's a hole.
I found a hole. Come.
Bharan, let him go now. Okay?
Come. Yeah. Let him go, okay?
Can you see the hole?
Can you squeeze into that?
I'm sorry.
Bharan...
Bharan!
Fuck.
I'm stuck.
Pull me!
Come on. Come on.
Are you okay? Bharan. Hey!
Here. Look at me.
Bharan...
Bharan.
Bharan.
Bharan?
Hey, Bharan.
You're cold. You're cold.
You have to get... Bharan.
Look at me. You have to get out
of this cold mud, okay?
We'll get out of here.
We'll wait here, and they'll find us.
You have to do what I say.
So sit up now...
...and sit close to me.
We'll keep each other warm. Okay?
And then what
happens is that the squirrel...
...wants a little...
Nut!
What kind of nut is this?
- The squirrel wants a little nut.
- You didn't catch it.
And then what happens is
that the squirrel...
...wants a little...
Nut!
What kind of nut is this?
- A little nut!
- You didn't catch it.
No.
For your family.
The money...
Please... For your family.
I'll give it to them.
Bharan!