Subway tunnel collapse leaves 3 dead, 17 missing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-16 10:11

HANGZHOU -- Rescuers have found three bodies from the collapsed subway construction site in east China's Hangzhou City, and were still searching for the other 17 missing, as of Sunday morning.

A 75-meter-long section of the subway tunnel under construction in the provincial capital of Zhejiang collapsed at 3:20 pm Saturday, trapping workers and creating a huge crater where 11 vehicles were trapped.

The scene of the subway tunnel collapse. At least three person is dead and 17 are missing after a road caved in on a subway tunnel under construction in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Saturday, rescuers said. [cnsphoto]

"There is a slim chance for the survival of trapped workers because of heavy flooding in the crater," said spokesman Wang Guangrong on Sunday.

The construction undertaker, China Railway Construction Group Co. Ltd. has summoned its experts to carry out a thorough safety examination in the tunnel building in Hangzhou, said Bai Zhongren, vice president of the company.

Under the experts' advise, authorities have evacuated three households living near the cave-in site. Their houses will be dismantled to make way for the mechanical operation in rescue and repair work, according to Wang.

The subway is under construction at the Fengqing Avenue in Xiaoshan District in the southeastern part of the city. The construction company has dispatched workers to set up brackets for reinforcing the remaining tunnel sections.

Authorities did not rule out the possibilities of further tunnel collapse.

By 9:00 a.m. Sunday, the depth of water in the tunnel fell to about three meters from the highest level of 6 meters, thanks to rescuers' efforts overnight.

Water from a nearby river flowed into the tunnel soon after the cave-in accident.

Nineteen people have been rushed to hospital for treatment after the accident, said Wang.

The rescue headquarters failed to provide the identities of the dead and the missing people. But rescuers said most of them were believed to be construction workers.

The spokesman said rescuers have pulled out all the eleven vehicles that had plunged into the crater. Fortunately, all the drivers and passengers are safe.