He washed a passage through the original excavation .
He reached the first of the trapped men , freed him from the wreckage and , working desperately in pitch - black darkness , finally effected his release from fouled lines , thereby enabling him to reach the surface .
Washing a passage through the original excavation , he reached the first of the trapped men , freed him from the wreckage and , working desperately in pitch - black darkness , finally effected his release from fouled lines , thereby enabling him to reach the surface .