Society

5 trapped miners rescued in NE China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-06 09:40

QITAIHE - Five miners were found alive Tuesday after more than four days trapped in a flooded coal mine in northeast China.

All the miners were in reasonable health after being rescued from the mine in Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province, at 3:23 a.m., said a rescue team spokesman.

They were taken to the nearby Qimei Group Hospital for further health checks.

The flooding happened at around 5 p.m. on April 1 at Longpeng Coal Mine, when 13 miners were working underground. Eight escaped unharmed.

At 6:00 p.m. Monday, the water level fell nearly 5 meters after days of water-pumping efforts, making it possible for rescuers to go inside the mine.

Rescuers went down the mine at 8:30 p.m. Monday and found the five miners alive in a place 800 meters away from the mine entrance at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.