The scenario is always flawed, because torture never actually works. So it's one thing to ask whether torturing someone could prevent the deaths of thousands, but it's not a reflection on how these things play out.

People who are being tortured will generally do and say anything to get the torture to stop, regardless of what they do or don't know, so what generally happens in cases of torture, is that the perpetrators end up with a load of false information, which, if you're on a tight deadline to prevent a bomb going off is the last thing you need.

It's just an impossible scenario that is always viewed over simplistically.