Rescuers were striving to reach and save the 181 miners who had
been trapped in flooded coal pits for a whole week in east China's
Shandong Province.
"We have met with difficulties in the rescue work, but we are
using every minute to pump water and save them," said Zhao Tiechui,
director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety at a news
briefing on Friday.
At 10:00 AM Friday, water level in the Huayuan mine where 172
miners are trapped dropped to 64.26 meters, but another 94 meters
of water remained to be pumped to reach the 14 nearest miners.
Technicians and a dozen rescuers were installing more powerful
pumping facilities to bring capacity to 5,000 cubic meters per
hour. By Thursday, four pumps with a total capacity of 2,500 cubic
meters per hour were operating around the clock.
More than 100,000 cubic meters of water had been pumped out
since rescue operation began, but flood experts estimated the pit
was flooded by more than 12 million cubic meters of water, a volume
that was "unprecedented" in any colliery flooding accidents in
China in recent years.
In the nearby Minggong mine, three pumps had been installed.
By Thursday, two drilling derricks from the Shengli Oilfield had
begun to drill wells to divert water from the flooded shafts. They
had dug 119 meters, almost one-third of the 385-meter target.
Dozens of rescuers were stacking filled sandbags around the
dykes of the Wenhe River to prevent the water from leaking into
mine pits.
Another group of rescuers were trying to block the shafts where
the flood was sent in from the river.
At the Huayuan Mine, local miners were still helping the rescue
team. "Nobody wants to leave. The trapped people are our family and
friends. We can't give up, and we will do everything to save them,"
said a miner.
"If there is only a one-percent chance of their survival, we
will do all we can to save them, and we will not give up," said
Wang Junmin, vice governor of Shandong Province.
Last Friday, flood water swept through a 65-meter wide breach in
the Wenhe River levee, inundating the Huayuan and Minggong mines,
leaving 181 people trapped underground.
Chinese water resources specialists blamed the disaster largely
on heavy rain and inadequate flood prevention facilities.
Apart from the rescue work, consolation work was also underway
for the families of the trapped workers. The tragedy had a heavy
blow on the company's community, and one out of every 50 families
has someone trapped down the pit.
Sixty family members had been hospitalized with high blood
pressure or heart problems, said Huangpu Tinghua, deputy general
manager of Huayuan Mining Co. Ltd.
The company had sent 545 employees to counsel the families of
the victims after the accident. The government of Tai'an City also
sent 134 medical staff to take care of the families.
"We are keeping close eyes on their families, especially those
who have fallen ill. We can't have any more casualties from the
families now," said Huang Longhua, a local official of Tai'an City
and head of the consolation work team.
(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2007)