- Workers trapped for days in Thai tunnel found dead
- The workers were trapped when a tunnel they were constructing collapsed due to a landslide
- Initial investigations suggest their deaths were caused by a lack of air
Workers trapped for days in Thai tunnel found dead
Three foreign workers trapped in a collapsed train tunnel in Thailand have died despite rescue efforts that spanned over five days, Thai authorities confirmed. The men, two from China and one from Myanmar were believed to be alive as recently as Thursday.
The workers were trapped when a tunnel they were constructing in the Pak Chong district, about 200 km (124 miles) northeast of Bangkok, collapsed due to a landslide late last Saturday night. The tunnel is part of the Thailand-China high-speed railway project currently under construction.
Rescue teams, including officials from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and a Chinese disaster response team, worked tirelessly around the clock, attempting to save the men by pumping oxygen into the tunnel. However, it is unclear if the oxygen reached the trapped workers.
On Thursday, rescuers found the body of a Burmese truck driver buried under soil and rocks. The bodies of the two Chinese workers—a supervisor and an excavator operator—were recovered early Friday morning. All three men were found about 25 meters from the point of the tunnel collapse. Initial investigations suggest their deaths were caused by a lack of air.
Efforts were slowed by continuous landslides, which repeatedly filled the holes that rescuers made to move deeper into the tunnel. Reports indicated that rescuers were within a metre of one of the men on Wednesday and even heard faint sounds believed to be from the trapped workers.