ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Three workers trapped inside a tunnel that is under construction in north-east Thailand are still alive, Pak Chong district chief Kanatchon Sricharoen said on Monday, adding that the authorities’ radar scanner had detected vital signs from the workers.
A Chinese foreman, a Chinese backhoe operator and a Myanmar dump truck driver became trapped inside the tunnel after a landslide on August 24. The tunnel being constructed in Tambon Chan Thuek in Pak Chong district is part of the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway in Nakhon Ratchasima. Rescuers from state and private agencies have been pumping oxygen into the tunnel to keep the workers alive and are clearing the soil that slid down the mountain, trapping the trio.
Kanatchon said that the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation arrived at the scene around midnight to support the rescue.
He said the rescue team had inserted a 1.2m tube into the area where vital signs were detected, before deploying officials to clear the soil inside and rescue the workers.
“The detection of vital signs proves that they are still alive,” he said, adding that officials will evaluate the victims’ health before sending them to Pakchong Nana Hospital.
