Man sleeps in stone case in coal-mining ravaged county

Guo Guibao, a 68-year-old resident of Xiangyuan county in Shanxi province, would rather sleep in a 1-meter-long and 0.7-meter-wide stone case than in his bed this summer - especially on rainy days.

It is difficult for Guo, who stands 1.63 meters tall, to get into the case, but it's the safest place in the cave house he lives in, which now rests in a giant goaf area, or an area that has been completely worked out from coal mining, China Youth Daily reported on July 31.

“I am very afraid that heavy rains this year may make my house collapse,” he said.

Because of coal mining, many cracks can now be seen on the ceiling and walls of his house.

“If the house collapses, I might be able to stay alive in the case long enough for someone to come rescue me,” he said.

The report said about 20,000 square kilometers, or 12.5 percent of the area, now is a goaf area from local coal mining, affecting 3 million residents.

With the exception of Guo and one other couple, most of the residents in the village have moved from the area due to the dangerous terrain that coal mining left behind, the report said.

Guo chose to stay in the area because he has nowhere else to move because he has no family, the report added