Trapped workers in tunnel still alive, rescuers say
The three workers trapped inside a tunnel under construction as part of the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway in Nakhon Ratchasima are still alive, Pak Chong district chief Kanatchon Sricharoen said on Monday.
The Chinese foreman and backhoe operator and a Myanmar dump truck driver became trapped inside the tunnel being constructed in Tambon Chan Thuek in Pak Chong district after a landslide on Saturday.
Rescuers from state and private agencies have been pumping oxygen into the tunnel to keep the workers alive and are clearing the soil that slid down the mountain, trapping the three.
Kanatchon explained that the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation arrived at the scene around midnight to support the rescue, adding that the department’s radar scanner had detected vital signs from trapped workers.
He said the rescue team had inserted a 1 metre and 20 centimetre tube into the area where vital signs were detected before deploying officials to clear the soil inside and rescue the workers.
“The detection of vital signs proves that they are still alive,” he said, saying that officials will evaluate victims’ health before sending them to Pakchong Nana Hospital.
Kanatchon confirmed that a rescue plan has been set up to assist the trapped workers as soon as possible.
