From The Associated Press
HANOI, Vietnam — The tunnel of a hydropower plant that is under construction in central Vietnam collapsed Tuesday, trapping 12 workers, state media reported.
Rescuer trying to dig through the tunnel to reach the trapped workers. (Thanh Nien)
The Thanh Nien newspaper quoted Pham Dinh Hieu, a project manager, as saying the incident occurred Tuesday morning in Lam Dong province as the workers were putting concrete on the tunnel’s dome. Twenty other workers escaped unhurt.
Rescuers were having difficulties pumping oxygen to the workers trapped inside, the report said.
A private company started construction of the 23-megawatt hydropower plant in 2003, but it has repeatedly faced delays.
Many hydropower plants have been built on Vietnam’s comprehensive river systems to try to meet growing demand for electricity.
