14 saved after SW China tunnel collapse

Source: Xinhua | July 20, 2014, Sunday |

Online Edition

FOURTEEN workers were rescued from a railway tunnel collapse in southwest China's Yunnan Province in the early hours of today after more than five days trapped underground.

One person remains missing and the rescue operation continues.

People cheered and applauded in laughters and tears as the 14th trapped worker was brought out of the tunnel at 2:58am today.

Ambulances waiting at the entrance to the tunnel immediately took the survivors to the People's Hospital in Funing County, where the tunnel is located.

"They look OK, but need a thorough examination. Plus we believe they will need psychological counseling later. We have made plans to help them recover," said Xu Heping, the deputy chief of the provincial health department.

The about 20 meters of the 13.5 kilometer tunnel collapsed at around 4pm Monday. More than 400 rescuers worked to free the trapped men.

At 7:20pm on Tuesday, rescuers managed to drill after more than 27 hours of rescue work and sent food, water and flashlights to the workers inside, while they were tried to remove the obstructions. The trapped workers helped to fix the broken electric wires on Wednesday and the power supply to the trapped area resumed.

However, in the following days, the rescue operation suffered a major setback as the drilling machine broke down, said Wang Jingjiang, deputy general manager of the railway company that runs the tunnel.

Using smaller rigs avoided tough obstructions, but slowed progress. A small tunnel was finally opened up on early this morning, said Wang.

Investigation into the cause the accident is underway.

Nation

About Us
|
Terms of Use
|
RSS
|
Privacy Policy
|
Contact Us
|
Shanghai Call Center: 962288
|
Tip-off hotline: 52920043

沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
|
互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
|
网络视听许可证：0909346
|
广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
|
增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012

14 saved after SW China tunnel collapse

Email this to your friend