8 more bodies found in Kashmir tunnel collapse, toll at 9

Rescue workers run for cover as earth movers dig through rubble of a collapsed tunnel in Ramban district, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, May 20, 2022. AP Photo

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Rescuers on Saturday found the bodies of eight more workers in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said, taking the death toll to nine after part of a tunnel collapsed in the Himalayan region. 

The tunnel is part of a mountainous highway tunnel system that was under construction when it collapsed Thursday night in the southern Ramban district. 

The body of one worker was recovered Friday. 

Aamir Ali, an official at the government’s disaster management department, said one worker was still missing. Emergency crews were using earthmovers to clear the wreckage and find the trapped worker. 

Officials said the section that collapsed was an approach tunnel used for ventilation and moving supplies and equipment to the main, under-construction tunnel. 

The tunnel is part of a vast network of bridges and tunnels on the strategic highway that connects two key cities of Srinagar and Jammu in the disputed region.