At least 12 workers remained trapped Sunday after 40 workers were rescued from a flooded rail tunnel under construction in central China's Hubei province, DPA quoted official Chinese news agency Xinhua as reporting. Rescue efforts were underway to bring the remaining workers to safety, with 150 rescuers searching for the 12, Xinhua said. The 40 workers rescued were being treated in hospital, Xinhua reported. Rescue workers had made contact with the remaining trapped workers and said they were in a stable condition, according to the report. The flooding accident occurred early Sunday at the Yesanguan rail tunnel in Enshi prefecture in central China. Rescuers said the accident happened at a slope inside the tunnel, 240 metres away from the tunnel mouth, where rainwater could enter easily, according to the Xinhua report. Rainwater pouring into the tunnel caused part of it to collapse, trapping the workers. Three water pumps are being used to drain the water out of the tunnel in an attempt to free the workers. The 14-kilometre-long tunnel is the longest of the 121 tunnels along the Yiwan railway, which links Yichang city in the province of Hubei with Wanzhou in Chongqing municipality, south-west China. Heavy rains have triggered severe flooding and mudslides in many parts of central China in the past few weeks.
