After five anxious days of rescue efforts, the six workers trapped by a tunnel collapse in China’s Yunnan province were freed on 21 May.
The men were working inside a the Nangchangling Railway Tunnel which aims to connect Dali and Lijiang, two popular scenic locations in Yunnan. At 11pm on 16 May, a collapse occurred that trapped the men within the tunnel.
By 20 May, rescuers had excavated a 21m long rescue heading and said they had approximately 5m left to excavate. Boulders in the fallen section were said to have been hindering progress as blasting was unable to be used. Reports said “nutrients” had been sent to the trapped workers via pipeline.
One day later all of the six had been freed and taken to Heqing People’s Hospital for treatment. An investigation is currently underway into the cause of the collapse.
