SHANGHAI (CHINA) – Rescue workers were engaged in an dramatic extraction of 11 surviving miners who were stuck in the Hushan Gold Mine since Jan10. They also found nine bodies, with one miner still missing a local official said on Monday.
A total of 22 miners working about 600 metres (2,000 feet) underground were trapped after an explosion at the major gold-producing region in China’s coastal Shandong province.
After two weeks of efforts, rescue workers were able to pull out eleven miner alive, on Sunday. One miner was in an extremely weak condition was also pulled out.
Yantai Mayor Chen Fei said rescuers kept searching from Sunday to Monday afternoon and found the bodies of nine miners, state broadcaster reported.
“That means a total of 10 miners are confirmed to have died, following the earlier death in the mine of one worker who had lapsed into a coma, and their remains have been lifted to the surface” Chen said, adding that one miner was still missing.
The 11 miners who were freed were in good condition. The were rescued through the air ventilation shaft, which according to Xiao Wenru, chief engineer for the mine rescue, was the most feasible way to bring up the workers. The shaft was cleared to a depth of 368 metres (1,207 feet) he explained.
State media reported that search for the missing miner will continue.
