PINGTANG, Guizhou - Getting diarrhea from drinking too much may just have saved Lan Zhiming's life.

The 22-year-old was scheduled to work the same shift as the 23 miners trapped in a coal shaft in Southwest China's Guizhou province. Instead, he was playing online games on Monday as rescuers desperately pumped out floodwater.

"I woke up with diarrhea at about 4 am, a few hours before my shift," said Lan, who explained that he later walked off site when mine owner Zhang Jiaqing refused to let him take sick leave.