Workers trapped as Vietnam tunnel collapses

Rescue teams are continuing their efforts to free 12 workers trapped underground after a tunnel collapsed during operations for a Vietnamese construction scheme.

The men had been reportedly employed by Song Da 505 Corporation on the Da Dang-Da Chromo hydropower plant in Lam Dong province, when the incident happened on December 16.

According to the company, a 6 m section of tunnel work connected to the new power facility collapsed.

Rescue teams totalling more than 200 people have so far been involved in the operation to free the trapped workers. Emergency response units had been able to force a 60 cm pipe through the collapsed rubble and pump oxygen to the stranded workforce.

Support for the trapped workers has been shown by the country’s Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, who vowed to take all necessary measures to assist the construction workers.

The Da Dang-Da scheme, which had been valued at VND 475 billion (US $22 million), is one of dozens of similar plants being constructed within Vietnam, as it drives to increase its power generating facilities.