9 more bodies found in Kashmir tunnel collapse, toll at 10

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. An official in Indian-controlled Kashmir said Friday that 10 workers were trapped after part of a road tunnel collapsed in the Himalayan region. Photo: AP/UNB

Rescuers on Saturday found the bodies of nine more workers in a collapsed tunnel in Indian-controlled Kashmir, taking the death toll to 10.

The tunnel is part of a mountainous highway tunnel system that was under construction in the Himalayan region when it collapsed Thursday night. The body of one worker was recovered Friday.

Aamir Ali, an official at the government's disaster management department, said Saturday that the bodies of all missing workers were recovered. Emergency crews used heavy machinery to clear the wreckage at the site of the collapse in southern Ramban district.

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.