At least 10 people are trapped after a section of a railway tunnel in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region collapsed Friday, local authority said.

Rescuers work at the site where at least 10 people are trapped after a section of a railway tunnel in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region collapsed on Friday, March 19, 2010. [Xinhua]

The accident occurred at about 2:35 PM Friday when workers were digging the tunnel in Zhuozi County of Ulanqab City, about 150 km from Hohhot, the regional capital, and 400 km from Beijing, said an unnamed official with the autonomous regional work safety administration.

An estimated 2,000 cubic meters of rocks and dirt had caved in, said Xinhua reporters at the site. Experts said supporting frameworks in the tunnel could shelter the workers and increase their chances of survival.

More than 300 rescuers and 60 machines are drilling through the rubble in a bid to improve ventilation, establishing contact with the trapped workers, and to send food and water.

The entrance of the tunnel has been cordoned off.

The tunnel is part of a railway being built to link Ulanqab City's Jining District and Baotou City, Inner Mongolia.

Workers had excavated 300 meters of the tunnel.

Rescuers teams have been despatched to the site.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2010)