Search teams in southern India were working on Sunday to rescue eight workers believed to be trapped in an irrigation tunnel that collapsed during construction, officials said.
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The accident occurred on Saturday in the state of Telangana after a sudden inflow of water and soil caused a part of the tunnel to cave in.
Workers positioned near a boring machine managed to escape, but another eight engineers and labourers near the entrance were believed to be stuck inside, the state’s ruling Congress party said in a statement on social media.
“This is an unfortunate incident, but we are committed to bringing them out safely,” state irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy told reporters, adding that a coordinated search and rescue effort was under way.
India’s national disaster response force joined rescue efforts on Saturday night. Reports said the tunnel’s ventilation system remained functional, which ensured the supply of oxygen to the trapped workers.
Media reports said that water needed to be pumped out and debris cleared before rescue teams could help locate and evacuate the trapped workers.