Three foreign workers who were trapped in a collapsed train tunnel in Thailand have died despite over five days of intensive rescue efforts, authorities have reported.
The victims, two from China and one from Myanmar, were believed to be alive as recently as Thursday.
The men were working on a tunnel that collapsed on Saturday in Pak Chong district, approximately 200 kilometers (124 miles) northeast of Bangkok.
The collapse occurred around 23:40 local time (16:40 GMT) and was caused by a landslide. Initial investigations suggest that the workers died from a lack of air.
The tunnel is part of the Thailand-China high-speed railway project. Rescue teams, including officials from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and a Chinese disaster response team, worked around the clock for the past week.
They attempted to pump oxygen into the tunnel, but it is unclear if the oxygen reached the trapped workers.
On Thursday, rescuers discovered the body of a Burmese truck driver buried under debris.
The bodies of the two Chinese workers, a supervisor and an excavator operator, were found early Friday morning at around 06:00 local time (00:00 GMT).
All three bodies were located about 25 meters from the collapse site.
Rescue operations faced significant challenges, including ongoing landslides that repeatedly blocked progress.
Reports indicated that rescuers were within just one meter of the workers on Wednesday and had heard faint sounds believed to be from the men.
Scanners and sniffer dogs also detected vital signs, raising hopes of a successful rescue.
However, rescue efforts were complicated by the risk of further collapses. Thailand’s caretaker Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul noted that rescuers had to balance the urgency of the operation with the need to ensure their own safety.
“We did not only try to save the lives of the victims, we also had to [ensure the safety] of the rescuers and workers,” he said during a press conference.
The bodies of the three workers were removed from the tunnel on Friday. Thai police have launched an investigation into the incident, and construction work in the area has been temporarily halted.
Source-BBC
