Last of 14 tunnel workers found dead

The last of 14 workers who had been trapped in Shijingshan Tunnel in the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone of Guangdong province was confirmed dead at 12:17 pm on Thursday, a statement released by the on-site rescue headquarters said. The bodies of all the others had been recovered earlier.

Various government departments would handle the aftermath, including comforting the families of the victims in the days to come, the statement said.

Shijingshan tunnel, part of the southern section of the Zhuhai Xingye Expressway, flooded at about 3:30 am on July 15, trapping a total of 14 workers inside. A rescue effort was launched immediately.

A total of 46 rescue teams with more than 2,500 rescue workers, 350 sets of heavy machinery and more than 200 rescue vehicles were sent to the site to assist over the past week.