Day 10: Twelve still trapped in south China mine which collapsed due to heavy rain

[News_Editor]

Day 10: Twelve still trapped in south China mine which collapsed due to heavy rain

2011-07-12 05:26:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

HESHAN, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- Rescue efforts have entered their tenth day as twelve miners remain trapped after a coal mine collapsed in the southern region of China, killing at least 8 people, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on July 2 after several days of heavy rainfall in China's southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region caused the collapse of a mineshaft in the region's city of Laibin. A total of 71 miners were working when the mine collapsed, but 49 of them were able to escape by themselves.

Pan Qiliang, a spokesman for the rescue headquarters, told the state-run Xinhua news agency that search and rescue teams believe seven of the twelve remaining miners are still alive. However, Pan underlined that teams still need more time to be pump out the flooding water from the mine to rescue the trapped miners.

Late last week, two miners were pulled out of the mine alive after more than seven days, but rescue workers also retrieved eight bodies. The two rescued miners are 41-year-old Liu Jiagan and 35-year-old Qin Hongdang. They were successfully pulled out 188 hours after becoming trapped underground.

According to the miners, they were able to survive by drinking spring water that had seeped through the top of the mineshaft. After their testimony, they were rushed to the nearby Heshan People's Hospital for treatment. They are said to be doing well.

Yang Yaodong, director of the Guangxi Heshan Coal Mining Company, which operates the mine, promised that the company would do everything in its power to rescue the remaining trapped miners.

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