SHANGHAI (CHINA) – In a bid to save 12 miners trapped underground, China has deployed 16 professional rescue teams and dozens of medical personnel.
A total of 22 miners were left trapped after an explosion on Jan. 10 at the Hushan gold mine on the outskirts of the city of Yantai on China’s eastern coast.
Rescuers found 11 of the survivors on Tuesday and spoke to them via a waterproof telephone delivered underground, the official provincial newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Song Xicheng, the medical rescue team leader, told reporters that more than 80 medical personnel were on standby, including nutritionists, neurosurgeons, trauma specialists and psychologists.
The team was able to deliver food, medicine, blankets and improve ventilation through newly drilled channels. They were also able to drain away water before they began extraction effort.
Eight of the 11 miners rescued on Tuesday were in good health, two were unwell and one was in a coma after being struck in the head during the explosion.
The 12th surviving miner is in another section and is believed to be injured, though the situation remains unclear.
