Rescuers search for tunnel workers after collapse
Rescue teams searched a river and tunnel today for bodies of 11 workers feared killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rains.
Navy divers recovered three bodies yesterday near the accident site in Dolkamb village, about 90 miles north of Mumbai.
Pouring rain caused boulders, mud and parts of trees to crash onto the tunnel, flooding it and trapping workers inside. The tunnel was being built to carry water to a power plant.
“Navy divers have entered the tunnel to search for more bodies,” said Sudhakar Kulkarni, an executive engineer at the power plant.
“We have not given up the search. We hope to find workers alive,” said district administrator Nandkumar Jantre. “But at the same time, teams are searching the river for bodies, in case the workers were swept away by the force of the water.”
The water also damaged office buildings at the power plant. Heavy rainfall across western India over the past three days has inundated low-lying areas.
