Workers trapped after tunnel collapse in Vietnam

Hundreds of firefighters and members of the security forces are involved in the rescue to save the trapped workers. They are able to communicate with the 12 workers through a pipe, a Vietnamese official said Wednesday. The workers are said to be safe.

Rising water levels inside the tunnel are making efforts to save the workers dangerous, according to rescue official Le Quang Viet. "Rescue forces are pumping the water out. All 12 workers stuck in the tunnel are sitting on scaffolding," he told the news agency dpa. Authorities raced to drain out water after levels rose to over one meter.

The workers became trapped when a 36 meter section tunnel, around 300 meters away from its entrance, collapsed early on Tuesday morning. About 20 other workers escaped unhurt from the 500 meter long tunnel. They were working on the construction of a hydropower plant in Vietnam's Lam Dong province when the accident occurred.

Rescue forces drilled a hole through the collapsed section of the tunnel and are using a pipe to pump in oxygen and send food to the workers. At the same time they are pulling out rocks and sand. It could take two days to reach the workers, official Le Quang Viet said.

The reason for the tunnel's collapse is not yet clear, but initial investigations suggested that the weak geological structure of the area and heavy rains over the past few days caused parts of the tunnel to cave in.

lvw/jm (Reuters, dpa, AP)