Two workers were pulled out alive more than 180 hours after trapped in a collapsed coal mine in southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, rescuers said Sunday morning.
The two were among 18 miners trapped after the mine operated by Guangxi Heshan Coal Mining Company collapsed midday on July 2 after days of heavy rain.
Rescuers told Xinhua that they heard feeble sounds of the trapped miners at 3 a.m. Sunday, but could not figure out how the sounds were made.
Rescuers believed that four more miners were trapped in the same tunnel section where the two survivors were found, which is a ventilation lane 320 meters underground.
A spokesman with the rescue headquarters said that the lane section was filled with sludge after the collapse. More than 110 rescuers were digging with simple tools or bare hands.
A total of 71 miners were working underground when the accident occurred, 49 of whom managed to escape. Rescuers have retrieved four bodies so far.
Xinhua