Beijing: Fourteen workers were rescued on Sunday from a collapsed railway tunnel after five days in China`s southwest Yunnan Province, while one still remains missing.
People cheered and applauded as the 14th trapped worker was brought out of the tunnel at 2:58 am today, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Ambulances waiting at the entrance of the tunnel immediately took the survivors to a hospital in Funing County.
"They look okay, but need a thorough examination. Plus we believe they will need psychological counselling later. We have made plans to help them recover," said Xu Heping, the deputy chief of the provincial health department.
About 20 metres of the 13.5-kilometre tunnel collapsed on Monday.?More than 400 rescuers worked to free 15 trapped men.
Rescuers managed to drill a hole and send food, water and flashlights to the workers inside, while they tried to remove the obstructions.
The trapped workers helped to fix the broken electric wires on Wednesday and the power supply to the trapped area resumed.
"However, in the following days, the rescue operation suffered a major setback as the drilling machine broke down," said Wang Jingjiang, deputy general manager of the railway company that runs the tunnel.
"Using smaller rigs avoided tough obstructions, but slowed progress.
A small tunnel was finally opened up," Wang said.
However, one person is still missing and the rescue operation is continuing.
