Coal Mine Rescue Slowed Down by Collapse

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, August 01, 2003

Coal Mine Rescue Slowed Down by Collapse

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Rescue work in a flooded coal mine in Zaozhuang City in east China's Shandong Province was slowed by a collapse early Friday morning, which cut access to an airtight shaft where four miners have been trapped for over 70 hours.

However, experts worked out a solution about 4:00 a.m., two hours after the collapse occurred.

It was estimated that four miners were trapped in the chamber and there was still hope for them to survive, if they stayed calm and they were supplied with enough oxygen, said Shang Dengying, a senior official with the state administration on work safety supervision.

Shang, experienced in many coal mine rescues, said that if the survivors reduced their activities and kept their spirits up, theycould survive for ten days underground.

By 10:00 a.m. Friday, 12 trapped miners had been found dead, two rescued, while 23 were still missing.

Experts were still not sure how long the collapsed section of shaft was, which added uncertainty to the rescue work, said rescuedirector Wu Chengjian.

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