Ramban Tunnel Collapse: five bodies recovered so far in J&K

In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the rescuers ,including ITBP team on Saturday, recovered five bodies from the debris of the tunnel which collapsed near Khooni Nallah area of Ramban district while the search operation continues.  At least 10 labourers were trapped after a section of a tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway caved-in, triggering large-scale rescue ops by teams of police, the Army and state and national disaster response forces.Ramban Deputy Commissioner Musarat Islam confirmed the retrieval of second body from the debris of the collapsed tunnel. The operation to rescue trapped labourers under the debris following the collapse of an under-construction tunnel on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway resumed early Saturday morning after a fresh landslide forced the authorities to suspend the process on Friday evening.

According to information, a labourer lost his life and three others were rescued when the audit tunnel of T3 on the National Highway near Khooni Nallah in Ramban district caved in at the start of the work on Thursday night. Last evening, over 15 rescuers, including Station House Officer of Ramsu Police Station had a narrow escape during a fresh landslide, besides shooting of stones from the hillock, heavy rains and strong winds prompted the authorities to suspend the rescue operation. However, with the improvement in weather conditions, the rescue operation resumed with the first light of the day with authorities pressing three earthmovers and rock-breakers to reach out to the trapped workers. NDRF and SDRF teams are also part of the rescue operation. Additional personnel along with magistrates have been deployed to speed up the rescue operation.