Rescuers drain floodwaters in race to free Chinese workers trapped in tunnel
- The 14 construction workers were trapped in Zhuhai city in the early hours of Thursday
- The tunnel, which runs under a reservoir, was part of project to link roads with the Hong Hong-Macau bridge
Hundreds of rescuers were battling on Friday to reach 14 construction workers trapped in a flooded tunnel in China, as the search entered its second day.
Pump trucks channelled water out of the flooded highway tunnel, which runs under a reservoir, in the southern city of Zhuhai near Hong Kong as over a thousand rescuers raced to locate the workers.
The workers were trapped in an underground section of a new highway construction site after it collapsed in the early hours of Thursday, Yan Dawu, deputy general manager of the railway group, said.
At around 3:30am workers in the tunnel heard an “abnormal noise” and decided to evacuate, Yan said, but water began flooding in before everyone could get out.
They are believed to be stranded some 1,160 metres away from the tunnel’s entrance.
“We feel deeply guilty and blame ourselves for this construction accident,” Yan said.