Three Foreign Workers Dead in Thailand After Train Tunnel Collapse

Thai authorities said that three foreign construction workers who had been working in a train tunnel last weekend when the walls came crashing down have died.
The men, two from China and one from Myanmar, had been stuck beneath the rubble in the tunnel they were building since Saturday. It was believed they were still alive as recently as yesterday.
On Friday, authorities confirmed that the workers had likely died from asphyxiation.
The tunnel, part of the Thailand-China high-speed railway project, collapsed due to a landslide at around 11:40 pm local time (5:40 pm GMT +1) on Saturday night.
Chinese disaster response teams and the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) rescue teams worked around the clock over the past week to try to save the victims, who were at risk of suffocation due to lack of air under the rubble. Rescuers attempted to supply air to the workers by pumping oxygen into the tunnel, but it was not clear whether the tubes had reached them.
All three bodies were found about 25 meters from the point of the tunnel collapse. The Burmese truck driver’s body, buried under a pile of soil and rocks, was found on Thursday, while the bodies of the two Chinese workers were recovered around 1:00 am GMT +1 on Friday, according to the SRT.
Thailand’s interim Interior Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, stated that the rescue operation had been hindered by “engineering limitations.” Rescue workers had to build three-meter-high supporting structures for their own safety while being careful not to cause further collapse.
Thai police have opened an investigation into the incident and have halted all construction work for the time being.