Three Chinese workers found dead in flooded highway tunnel

Three of 14 workers who have been trapped in a flooded highway tunnel for six days so far in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai were found dead, the local government said.

On July 15, water suddenly leaked into the Shijingshan tunnel, which is being built under a reservoir, trapping the workers more than a kilometre from the entrance.

On Monday, rescuers found the two dead workers about 1,060 metres and 1,070 metres from the tunnel's entrance, the Zhuhai government said.

Since then, the body of one other worker has been retrieved.

As of 8:00 am (0000 GMT) on Tuesday, rescuers were 856.1 metres into the tunnel, 303.9 metres from where workers were trapped, Huang Zhihao, mayor of Zhuhai city, said at a news conference.

The vast tunnel was still underwater, although the overall water level has dropped since last week.

The accident was the second in the tunnel since March, when a collapsed wall killed two workers.

The tunnel is part of a major expressway in Zhuhai in Guangdong province, linking the coastal city to a bridge to neighbouring Macau and Hong Kong.