Twenty-five workers are trapped after a highway tunnel collapsed on Monday morning in southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to the local government.

Rescuers said the workers are all alive and they should survive given the tunnel is more than 50 meters long and food and drink have been sent to them through steel pipes. Rescuers are expected to open up the blocked tunnel on Tuesday.

The accident happened at around 11:40 AM on Monday at the tunnel, which is under construction on the highway linking Guangnan and Yanshan. Twenty-six workers were working at the site but one managed to escape.

Local government officials have arrived at the site to supervise the rescue operation and investigate the cause of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2006)