Rescuers track down first victim in Nakhon Ratchasima tunnel collapse

A landslide at 11.30pm on Saturday (August 24) blocked a foreman and a backhoe operator, both Chinese nationals, and a Myanmar worker in a tunnel being dug for the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway project. The site is in Pak Chong district’s Chan Thuek area.

Since the disaster occurred, rescuers have been pumping oxygen into the blocked-off tunnel to keep the three men alive and clearing the debris that slid down the mountain.

As per Khaosod Online, rescue workers told the medical team to be ready with food and medicine after the man caught inside the vehicle responded to their knock on its door.

Rescuers have said they are evaluating the situation to see how the worker should be pulled out and transported to hospital.

Earlier, caretaker Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had said that the rescue team would do their best to bring the three trapped workers out as soon as possible. He said that all signs showed that the three men were still alive despite being trapped underground for more than 72 hours, adding that rescuers needed to carefully dig further into the tunnel. The rescue team failed in their mission to pull out the first victim on Tuesday.

Emphasising the urgency of the situation, he said, he hoped the victims would “endure the suffering until the rescuers reach them”. He also advised the rescue teams against wasting time evaluating the situation.

Anutin added that China has also sent engineers who have expertise in tunnel rescue missions to help with the operation.