2010-04-08 07:23

Up to 29 miners may still be alive underground

BEIJING - Rescuers held out hope for the survival of 29 miners trapped deep underground at a flooded mine in North China's Shanxi province, as the death toll rose to nine as of Wednesday evening.

Rescued miner Gong Changzhong, who was pulled from the flooded Wangjialing Coal Mine in Shanxi province, relishes his meal at a hospital in Taiyuan on Thursday. [Xinhua]

Rescue headquarters at the Wangjialing Coal Mine confirmed on Wednesday the latest three deaths resulting from an underground flood on March 28. The bodies of another six miners were recovered earlier this week.

Hundreds of rescuers extended their efforts to pump out water in two separate areas of the pit where as many as 29 miners were believed to be trapped, Liu Dezheng, the spokesman for the rescue headquarters, said on Wednesday.

"Pumping is still the most important part of the rescue operation," said Liu.

One of the areas was at the lowest level of the shaft where miners had broken into an abandoned mine filled with water, which flooded their own mine.

About 14 miners may be trapped there, according to rescue headquarters, and other survivors may be found in higher areas of the pit.

The condition of the trapped miners is unclear because rescuers have not been able to reach them through the submerged sections of the shaft.

Some rescuers have approached their physical limits after 10 days of work.

Yang Fan, a 30-year-old man on a rescue team from nearby Yangquan city, fainted on Wednesday morning before entering the mine for his latest rescue attempt.

In Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province, some of the 60 rescued workers hospitalized there have recovered "relatively quickly", Xinhua News Agency reported, quoting Sun Ping, a doctor from the No 1 Hospital of the Shanxi Medical University.

Gong Changzhong, who had been trapped underground for eight full days, laid on a bed in his ward and watched the TV program of his rescue shown by the state broadcaster CCTV.

Gong, 46, has also begun to receive psychological treatment.

Meanwhile, in another coal mine accident on March 31 in Yichuan county of the Henan province, 40 miners have been pronounced dead with another six missing.

The mine lacked the required licenses and ignored a government ban to produce coal, according to a statement issued by the State Administration of Work Safety, the national work safety watchdog.

The recklessness of contractors, the absence of safety measures and mismanagement contributed to the gas explosion at the mine, according to the statement.