5 dead, 1 injured in S China tunnel collapse

NANNING - Five people were killed and one injured in an expressway tunnel collapse that occurred early Wednesday in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, sources with the local rescue command center said.

The accident occurred around 4 am in Najia township of Debao county on a section of expressway that links the city of Baise with Jingxi county.

The section was under construction at the time of the accident.

Seven people were working in the tunnel when the accident occurred. One escaped and six others were buried, including the injured victim, said Xie Deqiang, Communist Party of China (CPC) chief of Debao county.

The bodies of the deceased were pulled out and identified by 11 am. Four of the victims were from neighboring Guizhou province, the command center said.

The injured person has been sent to a nearby hospital, according to the sources.

The command center said the victims were carrying construction materials in the tunnel when 200 cubic meters of debris caved in on them.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is under way.