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Hangzhou tunnel toll rises to seven

By Wang Hongyi (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-18 07:24

HANGZHOU: The death toll in Saturday's subway tunnel collapse in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, has risen to seven with 14 people still missing.

Experts said rescue efforts are being hampered by water seeping from a nearby lake into the tunnel. Homes in the vicinity have been evacuated.

The Xinhua News Agency said new cracks have appeared near a section of the collapsed tunnel, prompting authorities to take further preventive measures.

Rescue workers discuss their next course of action at the site of the collapsed subway tunnel in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province November 17 2008. [China Daily]

Water in the tunnel, which was under construction, is being pumped out and protruding steel rods have been removed.

Rescue teams are working in double shifts to find the workers.

Hangzhou mayor Cai Qi said the first 72 hours are crucial to finding and rescuing the workers.

"We must do everything we can to locate them," he said.

Related readings:  4 killed, 17 missing after subway tunnel collapses

State leaders, including Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice-Premier Li Keqiang, have ordered that no efforts be spared in the search and rescue.

"The chances of survival are slim because of heavy flooding," Chen Yunmin, professor of the architecture department of Zhejiang University, and a member of the rescue team, said.

Experts have arrived at the site to determine the cause of the accident.

Zhao Tiechui, vice-minister of the State Administration of Work Safety said yesterday: "The cause of such accidents should be investigated thoroughly, and the findings made public."

He said if the construction company was at fault, it will be severely punished.

A person living nearby, who declined to give his name, told China Daily that cracks had appeared on the road surface two or three months ago. The cracks, more than 10 m in length and 2 cm in width, had alarmed residents.

Hangzhou has launched a citywide check of all its 35 subway construction sites. They have been ordered to shut down temporarily.

The 69-km project, begun in March last year, is being built at a cost of $5.1 billion and is due to be completed in 2011, Xinhua said.

Local authorities have arranged accommodation for the relatives and friends of the dead and missing.

Compensation will also be announced soon, officials said.