3 dead in Hangzhou tunnel collapse

WATCH VIDEO

Source: CCTV.com | 11-16-2008 13:41

At least three people have been killed and 17 are missing, after a road caved in on a subway tunnel under construction in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

At least three people have been killed and 17 are missing,  after a road caved in on a subway tunnel under construction  in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Nineteen people have been taken to hospital. An investigation team has been set up to probe the cause of Saturday's accident. Witnesses and rescuers earlier said at least 50 people, mostly construction workers, were trapped underground. But the exact number is still unknown. About 30 workers managed to escape. Eleven vehicles are also trapped in a 75-meter-long, 15-meter-deep crater after a section of road collapsed into the tunnel.

About two thousand rescuers are trying to pump water out of the tunnel and haul vehicles out of the crater. All subway construction in the city has been suspended. The accident site is on Line One of eight subway lines which will be built in Hangzhou by 2050.