Society

19 trapped after tunnel collapses in SW China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-30 19:01

KUNMING- Nineteen workers were trapped after a tunnel under construction collapsed Tuesday afternoon in southwest China's Yunnan Province, the local government said Wednesday.

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The collapse occurred at 4:00 pm Tuesday at the entrance of a road tunnel that was being built in Xianggelila County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, said a spokesman with the prefecture.

Rescuers had traced life signs in the tunnel and were rushing to dig into the tunnel for rescues, the spokesman said.

Initial investigations showed that unstable geological conditions had caused the accident, according to the spokesman.