The death toll from the railway tunnel flood in central China's
Hubei Province has risen to three with seven
others still missing, rescuers said on Tuesday.
Two bodies were found by 11:40 PM Tuesday after more than 200
people were dispatched to search for the trapped workers, said Tan
Zhengbiao, general manager of China Railway 16th Group Co., Ltd. He
is supervising the tunnel’s construction.
The fatal flooding occurred at approximately 1:00 AM on Sunday
in the Yesanguan rail tunnel in the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous
Prefecture. It trapped 52 workers but 43 of them were rescued later
the same day.
Chen Deqi, 49, one of the 43 rescued workers, died early on
Monday after emergency treatment failed. Another rescued worker,
Chen Xiangyong, was still in critical condition. He was moved to
another hospital to treat multiple injuries, which could lead to
renal failure, said Deng Zhongfu, deputy head of the Minzu Hospital
in the Badong County.
The 18 other workers were stable, receiving treatment for
internal injuries, pneumonia, fever, and other conditions.
Twenty-three rescued workers have been discharged from
hospital.
Silt has clogged an area 150 meters from the entrance to the
tunnel. In some areas the mud and rock reach four meters high, the
local rescue headquarters said.
The rescuers are widening and clearing a horizontal shaft so
they can move in equipment to clear the water and silt. Rescue
workers, with ropes tied to their waist to prevent them from
falling over, are shouting through loudspeakers and looking for the
missing workers.
A group of officials, headed by Wang Dexue, vice director of the
State Administration of Work Safety, visited the workers at the
Minzu hospital Monday afternoon. He offered 1,000 yuan (US$132) to
each of the injured.
The 14-km tunnel is the longest of the 121 tunnels along the
Yiwan Railway, which links Yichang City in Hubei Province with
Wanzhou in Chongqing Municipality.
Rescue workers said that the accident occurred at a site 240
meters from the tunnel’s mouth.
Heavy rains have triggered severe flooding and mudslides in many
parts of central China in the past few weeks.
(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2007)