On Monday, rescue workers discovered the remains of five miners who had been trapped by a coal mine flooding in Huaibei, in the eastern province of Anhui, according to local sources. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
The flooding occurred at around noon on Saturday at the state-owned Haizi Coal Mine in the north of Anhui. About 30 miners escaped in time, but five were trapped underground, an anonymous survivor told Xinhua News Agency.
Meanwhile, in Chengde, north China's Hebei Province, hopes are fading for the five miners trapped after a massive colliery blast last week.
They have confirmed 45 dead so far since Thursday's 3:00 AM gas explosion at the Nuan'erhe Coal Mine, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website yesterday.
Sun Jisheng, the only survivor of the blast, is receiving treatment at a local hospital. The 53-year-old escaped unhurt from another mining accident in January 2002.
Fu Wencai, director of the provincial administration of work safety, said those thought to be responsible for the accident had been detained by police for judicial investigation.
The same day, in the southwestern province of Yunnan, rescuers pulled 12 men to safety after they'd been trapped for nearly six days in a railway tunnel collapse.
Workers had dug three ventilation shafts but failed to locate the men. Finally, at around 3:50 AM yesterday, a fourth led to them.
They were pulled from the debris at 11:30 AM. Apart from one carried out on a stretcher, all the victims walked out of the rubble with some support from their rescuers, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
The workers wore blindfolds to protect their eyes as they emerged into the bright lights of news cameras, CCTV said.
All the men were reported to be in good condition. They had got air and food through a water pipe that had been installed.
The Miandian No.3 train tunnel caved in at 10:30 PM last Tuesday whilst under construction.
(Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai Daily, May 24, 2005)
