Bodies of all 10 trapped workers recovered from collapsed tunnel

Bodies of all the 10 trapped workers were recovered from the debris of an under construction tunnel that collapsed near Khooni Nallah area of Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district on Thursday, the police said on Saturday.

Ramban (Jammu and Kashmir): Ten bodies were recovered so far on Saturday after the rescue operation resumed at the Ramban Tunnel collapse site in Jammu and Kashmir, which was put on hold yesterday after a fresh landslide.

"A case of negligence has been registered following the collapse of an under construction tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban on May 19," a police officer said. The deceased have been identified as Jadav Roy, Gautam Roy, Sudhir Roy, Dipak Roy and Parimal Roy all from West Bengal, and Shiva Chouhan from Assam, Nepalese national Navaraj Chaudhary and Kushi Ram Chaudhary, and Mohammad Muzaffar and Mohammad Ishirat, both residents of Marog, district Ramban.

Meanwhile, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) informed that six people are still feared trapped under the debris. The second day of the rescue operation was started at 5.30 am on Saturday after being halted on Friday at 5 pm because of rain, heavy winds and a landslide. The rescuers are currently at work and using three earthmovers and three stone breaker machines in the rescue operation.

"It is likely to take more time as rock breakers are being used to create space for reaching the trapped persons. Though the length of the tunnel is around 3 metres, the debris around has increased the chances of suffocation also. The chances of survival of the trapped people, therefore, seem low," an official said.

A joint rescue operation was launched immediately after the tunnel collapsed on Friday night. “At around 10.15 pm (on May 19), the Ajit tunnel of T3 caved in, near Khooni Nallah Ramban, trapping more than a dozen labourers of Sarla Company working at the site," an official said. Three persons were rescued and were shifted to the district hospital in Ramban where one of them, Vishnu Gola (33) has been referred to GMS Jammu for advanced treatment, informed the official.

NDRF, SDRF, QRT and Army have been deployed for search and rescue operations at the site of the tunnel collapse. Landslides and rains at the site of the accident yesterday hampered rescue operations. Meanwhile, traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway has been opened up today, though a huge traffic jam between Ram Bin and Banihal persists.