24 Trapped In Shandong Iron Ore Mine Flooding Accident (Photo : Getty Images)
It took two hours of rescue operations to free on Friday four Chinese miners trapped inside a collapsed gypsum mine for 36 days in Shandong Province. The miners were hauled one by one to freedom through a narrow capsule to bring them out of the mine more than 200 meters underground.
Because the trapped miners were in the dark for more than one month, they had to be blindfolded to protect their eyes from damage. The men were wrapped in military blankets and immediately placed inside ambulances.
Xinhua News Agency reported that the four have no major injuries and would be able to go home soon. The four are among the 29 miners trapped after the mine caved in on Dec. 25. Eleven of the workers were rescued the next day, one of whom died. But 13 are still missing despite the rescue, according to China Central Television.
The four rescued miners are 50-year-old Hao Zhicheng, 36-year-old Hua Mingxi, 39-year-old Li Qiusheng and 58-year-old Guan Qingji. Although the miners have been trapped for several days, rescuers did not lose hope that some are still alive after they detected signs of life on Dec. 30. Rescuers then lowered infrared cameras to trace the location of the trapped workers, reported CNN.
But the rescuers contacted them nine days later only and sent down lamps, clothes and food using a tunnel. It was similar to how 33 Chilean miners trapped for more than two months 2,300 feet underground were rescued.
It was a challenge to rescue the trapped miners because of the complicated geographical conditions such as falling rocks and the tunnel’s structural instability.
Authorities are still probing the cause of the collapse, although mine cave-ins are not surprising in Chin because of mine operators often not following safety standards which persists due to prevalent corruption in the mining industry. The accident resulted in the ousting of the Pingyi County party chief and three other local officials.
Ma Congbo, chief executive of Yurong Trade Co. and owner of the mine, after the accident, killed himself by jumping into a mine well. He was aware of his huge liability because despite order by local authorities in October to cease production due to the danger of sinkholes, mining activities, nevertheless, went on secretly.
