Three more bodies were recovered from the debris of an under-construction tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway that collapsed recently, raising the death toll to four, officials said on Saturday.

The operation to rescue nine labourers feared trapped under the debris resumed early on Saturday after a fresh landslide on Friday evening had forced the authorities to suspend the process.

After a hectic search stretching several hours, the rescue teams recovered two bodies and they were shifted to a nearby hospital for identification, the officials said. Another body was retrieved from under the debris and efforts are underway to pull it out, they added.

The audit tunnel of T3 on the highway near Khooni Nallah in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district caved in at the start of the work at around 10.15 pm on Thursday, after which officials had confirmed that a labourer had died and three others were rescued.

Nine were feared trapped under the debris.

An operation to rescue them was soon launched but had to be suspended on Friday evening due to a fresh landslide and inclement weather. Over 15 rescuers, including the Station House Officer of Ramsu police station, Nayeem-Ul-Haq, had a narrow escape during this time, according to the officials.