3 Foreign Workers Trapped in Thai Tunnel Found Dead After Five-Day Rescue Operation

Thai authorities have confirmed the deaths of three foreign workers who were trapped in a collapsed train tunnel for over five days, despite extensive rescue efforts, BBC reported. The victims, comprising two Chinese nationals and one Myanmar citizen, were initially believed to have survived until Thursday. However, on Friday, authorities announced all three had died. All three bodies were found about 25 metres from the point of the tunnel collapse, officials said. 

The victims have been identified as Chinese project supervisor Hu Siang Min, Chinese backhoe driver Dong Chinlin, and a truck driver from Myanmar whose identity was yet to be confirmed, Independent reported. Preliminary investigations suggest that asphyxiation due to oxygen deprivation was the probable cause of death, as announced by officials on Friday. 

The tunnel, which was still under construction as part of the Thailand-China high-speed railway project, collapsed around 23:40 local time (16:40 GMT) last Saturday due to a landslide. To save the trapped workers, a dedicated team of rescuers from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and a specialised Chinese disaster response team worked tirelessly around the clock for over a week. They tried to pump oxygen into the tunnel to keep the workers alive, but it is unclear whether the tubes they used reached the workers at all. 

Advanced scanners and trained sniffer dogs had also detected faint vital signs, suggesting that the trapped workers might still be clinging to life. However, the rescue operation was slow due to the treacherous conditions caused by the ongoing landslide. Rescuers faced a constant battle as falling debris and dirt continually filled in the holes they painstakingly dug, blocking their path. The rescue teams also had to be extremely careful while digging so that it would not cause other parts of the tunnel to collapse.

Anutin Charnvirakul, Thailand’s caretaker Interior Minister, noted that rescue efforts were limited by the challenging engineering conditions.

“Nobody wanted [this incident] to happen. “We did not only try to save the lives of the victims, but we also had to [ensure the safety] of the rescuers and workers,” he said at a press conference on Friday.

The state railways company offered its condolences to the victims’ families and said it was ”ready to assist the families of the deceased”.

Following the tragic incident, the Thai authorities have launched a comprehensive investigation into the tunnel collapse. In the meantime, all construction activities in the vicinity of the tunnel have been temporarily suspended.