Three killed in China tunnel collapse

Hangzhou (China), Nov 16 (Xinhua) At least three people were killed and 17 reported missing when a subway under construction collapsed in east China.

Rescuers Sunday recovered the three bodies and were clearing the rubble in search of the missing in the accident in Hangzhou city that occurred Saturday.

A 75-meter-long section of the subway tunnel under construction in the provincial capital of Zhejiang collapsed at 3.20 p.m., burying workers and creating a huge crater where 11 vehicles were stuck.

'The chances of survival for those trapped are slim because of heavy flooding by a river flowing close by,' said spokesman Wang Guangrong Sunday.

China Railway Construction Group Co. Ltd., which is building the tunnel, has initiated an examination of the safety measures in the tunnel, said Bai Zhongren, vice president of the company.

Authorities did not rule out the possibilities of more portions of the tunnel collapsing.

The dead or the missing were not identified but rescuers said most of them were believed to be construction workers.