HANOI (REUTERS) - Vietnamese rescuers battled on Wednesday to free 12 workers trapped in a tunnel that collapsed during construction of a hydropower plant and said it could take days to get past entrenched mud, sand and debris as water levels rose.
From the looks of the picture it seems that the construction is being done with less than optimal equipment.
The Kuwait News Agency had some more detail:
The workers were on their way to the work zone inside the tunnel as around 300-5000 meters of the tunnel's entrance collapsed, expecting further parts to fall, head of the Firefighting and Rescue Police Department of Lam Dong Province Colonel Hoang Cong Thao said.Authorities have drilled into the rock to pump oxygen to the trapped men, while rescue teams contacted the trapped workers and they were in "good health conditions", he affirmed.The exact reasons behind the tunnel's collapse are not clear yet, he said.Rescue teams are clearing rubble out of the tunnel following 12 hours of the collapse time, and they are strengthening the roof to prevent further collapse in order to allow 0.6 meter pipe into the tunnel, helping the trapped workers to escape the collapsing tunnel, he added.Da Dang-Da Chomo" hydropower plant project is located in the hilly Lam Dong province, in the center of the country, and this project is still under construction.The power plant is expected to produce around 110 million kilowatt per hour, annually, at the coast of USD 22.24 million. (end) mam.lb300 to 5000 meters of the tunnel collapsed? Maybe they meant that the tunnel collapsed 300-5000 meters from the entrance or from the surface. I don't know. The 12 workers have an air tube now, but the water is rising.
Update:
Malay Mail Online clarifies that the collapse happened about 500 meters from the entrance.
Cool video!
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