Chinese miners trapped underground for nine days are recovering strength after food and medical supplies were lowered to them, rescuers said Tuesday, as authorities raced to save the workers.

Some 22 workers were trapped at the Hushan mine near Yantai in east China's Shandong province after an explosion damaged the entrance.

One group of the miners managed to send a note attached to a metal wire which rescuers had dropped into the mine on Sunday after days without any signs of life.

The handwritten message said a dozen of them were alive, but surrounded by water and in need of urgent medical supplies.

Several were injured, the note said.

Subsequent communication revealed 11 were in one location, 540 metres (1,750 feet) below the surface, with another -- apparently alone -- trapped a further 100 metres down.

The whereabouts and condition of the other 10 miners is still unknown.

Rescuers have already dug three channels and sent food, medicine, paper and pencils down thin shafts -- lifelines to the miners.

Rescuers on Tuesday said two miners who were "very weak" had regained their ability to walk, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

However, one of the miners is in a coma after being injured in the blast, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The progress of the rescue has been slow, according to Chen Fei, a top city official.

"The surrounding rock near the ore body is mostly granite... that is very hard, resulting in slow progress of rescue," Chen told reporters on Monday evening.

"There is a lot of water in the shaft that may flow into the manway and pose a danger to the trapped workers."

Chen said the current food supply was only enough for two days.

Rescuers drilled three more channels on Tuesday, according to a rescue map published on the Yantai government's official twitter-like Weibo account.

A telephone connection has also been set up.

Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed dozens of rescuers clearing the main return shaft, while cranes and a massive bore-hole drill was used to dig new rescue channels to reach the trapped miners.

Rescue teams lost precious time as it took more than a day for the accident to be reported, China Youth daily reported citing provincial authorities.

Both the local Communist Party secretary and mayor have been sacked over the 30-hour delay and an official investigation is underway to determine the cause of the explosion.

Mining accidents are common in China, where the industry has a poor safety record and regulations are often weakly enforced.

In December, 23 workers died after being stuck underground in the southwestern city of Chongqing, just months after 16 others died from carbon monoxide poisoning after being trapped underground at another coal mine in the city.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

China defends Covid-19 response after criticism by experts
Beijing (AFP) Jan 19, 2021
China defended its handling of the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday but said it would "strive to do better" after independent experts criticised the speed of its response to a virus that has now killed more than two million people worldwide. Beijing has faced international criticism for an alleged lack of transparency after the virus emerged in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019 and for stifling whistleblowers who tried to raise the alarm. The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Resp ... read more