The worst fears of the rescue workers, looking for survivors under the debris of an under-construction tunnel in Ramban, turned out to be true as nine more dead bodies were recovered from the accident site along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on Saturday.
According to official sources a total number of 9 labourers were trapped under the debris after a front portion of an 'adit tunnel' caved-in late Thursday night.Three labourers were safely rescued as they miraculously escaped the boulders falling over their heads.
During the day-long rescue operations jointly conducted by the NDRF, SDRF, civil, police, ITBP and army personnel only one dead body was recovered on Friday. The rescue operations were hampered due to inclement weather conditions and were suspended on Friday evening. On Saturday the rescue operations were launched with the first light to look for survivors. As the day progressed the rescue teams cleared the debris and recovered eight more dead bodies.
"So far nine bodies have been recovered from the spot. Out of these nine deceased, five were from West Bengal, one from Assam, two from Nepal, and two were local. FIR has been registered for negligence," Ramban district police superintendent Mohita Sharma told reporters at the accident site. Late Saturday evening another dead body was recovered by the rescue workers.