Rescue continues for workers trapped in tunnel

Rescuers are still searching for the 14 trapped workers in a tunnel in the Zhuhai special economic zone in Guangdong province, with some progress achieved by Friday night.

Zhang Yisheng, vice-mayor of Zhuhai, said the water level of the reservoir over the tunnel has been reduced and the water level inside the tunnel has also continuously dropped.

As of Friday noon, rescuers had reached 395 meters into the tunnel, 764 meters from where the workers are trapped.

"But we have not been able to contact the trapped workers yet," Zhang said at a news conference on Friday.

The Shijingshan tunnel, part of the southern section of Zhuhai's Xingye Expressway, flooded at about 3:30 am on Thursday. The 1.78-kilometer tunnel is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year. Construction started in 2019.

Zhang admitted rescuers have encountered new situations and difficulties that affected the progress of the rescue.

Geological conditions at the site are complicated as the tunnel not only contains water from the reservoir but also a large amount of mountain water. Mud has also affected pumping efficiency, he said.

"The tunnel is narrow and so it is difficult for all the drainage pump trucks to enter the tunnel and work simultaneously, affecting drainage speed," he said.

Meanwhile, a large amount of carbon monoxide has been emitted from the operation of pumping and drainage equipment in the tunnel, resulting in the rapid rise of carbon monoxide inside the tunnel and making the operation extremely difficult, said Zhang.

All of the trapped workers are employed by a construction company in Fujian province and their family members arrived in Zhuhai after they learned about the accident. Zhang said relevant departments have arranged special personnel to help receive and calm the families.