DUJIANGYAN, Sichuan Province: A gas explosion in a tunnel construction site near this city in Southwest China's Sichuan Province killed 42 and wounded 11, as of 9 pm on Friday.

The accident occurred around 2 pm on Thursday when workers were digging the Dongjiashan Tunnel on an expressway.

Eleven bodies were found immediately after the explosion, and another 31 were found after rescue workers cleared away the debris, according to the Sichuan Provincial Safety Production Supervision Administration.

Most of the dead were 20-40 years old, with the youngest being 18. Many of the bodies were torn apart, eyewitnesses said.

Most of the workers were from Guangyuan and Luzhou cities in Sichuan and Zunyi in the neighbouring Guizhou Province.

The tunnel, 7 kilometres away from downtown Dujiangyan, is one section of the Dujiangyan-Wenchuan Expressway which is under construction.

Construction of the 2,550-metre tunnel started on January 7, 2004, and more than half has been completed.

The tragedy could have been prevented if timely measures had been taken, said workers on the scene.

On December 18 and 19, several mudslides occurred in the tunnel, and workers reported the situation to their superiors of a branch of China Railway Engineering Corporation, which was in charge of the construction.

A worker surnamed Li said workers smelled gas in the tunnel on Thursday morning, and feared that there would be a gas explosion. But their warnings were ignored by the foremen.

Li left the area for fear of an explosion, and so was spared from the tragedy.

Most of the wounded workers were out of danger and some had left the hospital, while the rescue work continued, according to a source from the Sichuan safety administration.

Dujiangyan is famous for the world's oldest irrigation project still in operation after more than 2,000 years.

Source: China Daily