Two more rescued from flooded mine, 16 remain trapped
8/9/2008 17:47
Two more miners were pulled out of a flooded coal mine in central China's
Henan Province today, bringing the total number rescued to eight, emergency
crews said.
Sixteen miners remain trapped in the Renhe Coal Mine in
Changzhuang Township in the city of Yuzhou.
The pit was flooded at 5:45 am
yesterday, when 62 miners were doing maintenance work. Thirty-eight people
managed to escape and six were rescued yesterday.
Today, two survivors were
pulled out of the pit at 0:15 am and 5:20 am. Rescuers said the miners were
being treated at a local hospital.
About 300 cubic meters of water filled the
mine when workers were digging in a waste area, rescuers said.
Underground
gas and cave-ins slowed the drainage process making it hard for rescuers to
reach the remaining 16 miners.
A spokesman with the emergency rescue
headquarters said the gas density in the shaft was over 10 percent. A fan was
used to provide ventilation for the trapped miners.
More than 60 rescuers,
all wearing gas masks, are working at the site to pump out water and clear away
silt.
The Renhe Coal Mine was formerly a private business known as Fushun
Coal Mine. It had an annual capacity of 150,000 tons. In 2005, the business was
incorporated into the stated-owned Hebi Coal Industry (Group) Co Ltd based in
Henan's Hebi City.
Xinhua
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