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| A communication line was established and food and medicine were lowered down through a narrow shaft. The miners received porridge and nutritional liquids, and a few days before their rescue requested a traditional meal of sausages. (Photo by=BBC) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] Nine Chinese miners have been found dead a day after 11 of their colleagues were rescued after two weeks trapped in a gold mine in Shandong province CNN said. The Yantai city mayor confirmed the deaths, state broadcaster CCTV said. One miner remains missing. Another died last week after falling into a coma.
The miners became trapped in the Hushan mine when the entrance to the tunnel collapsed after a blast on 10 January. There was joy on Sunday after the 11 were brought to the surface. "Along with one miner who died on Thursday, the bodies of the nine deceased miners were all lifted out of the mine", Yantai Mayor Chen Fei told a briefing on Monday. The nine dead miners were believed to have been in the "Sixth Central Section" of the mine, but details of how they were located are not yet known.
Additionally, Rescue efforts had been expected to take weeks but took a "big step forwards" on Sunday morning when "a huge obstacle blocking the well suddenly fell to the bottom of the shaft," lead rescue worker Du Bingjian told the state-run Global Times. Mining accidents are not uncommon in China, where the industrial safety regulations can be poorly enforced.
