LOS ANGELES — All 31 construction workers who were far inside a huge industrial tunnel in Los Angeles made it to safety after a portion of it collapsed Wednesday evening, an outcome officials called a blessing after they initially feared much worse.

The cave-in apparently happened between the tunnel boring machine, 5 miles in from the only entrance, and the construction crew working 6 miles in, said Michael Chee, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which is in charge of the nearly $700 million project. The workers were about 400 feet underground.

The tunnel is being constructed almost entirely underneath public right-of-way. The structure is 18 feet wide and will be 7 miles long to carry treated wastewater from across Los Angeles County to the Pacific Ocean.

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