Chinese language rescuers intention to drill new shaft to free trapped miners | China Information

Rescuers are drilling new shafts to reach 22 miners who were trapped underground for 11 days after the gold mine exploded.

Rescue workers in China drilled new shafts Thursday to reach miners trapped underground for 11 days after an explosion, including one designed to bring the survivors back to safety.

A total of 22 workers were trapped underground in the January 10 explosion at the Hushan gold mine on the outskirts of Yantai, an important gold producing region in Shandong on the northeast coast. One worker has been confirmed dead, and the fate of a number of others is still uncertain.

For days rescuers have been in contact with 11 miners trapped in the central part of the mine, about 350 meters below ground, and have managed to send them food and medical supplies.

However, state media reported Wednesday that at least one of them – previously in a serious condition with a head injury – had died.

Of the 10 miners alive, eight are in stable condition while two are “feeling weak,” CCTV said.

The whereabouts and condition of her colleagues are still unknown.

The local government said on its official social media feed Thursday that rescuers have begun drilling a 10th channel, 711 mm (28 inches) in diameter, which they hope survivors will come to the surface can be brought.

Local officials fired

A borehole had to be sealed with cement after a water leak put the miners’ safety at risk.

On a foggy Thursday morning, the road leading to the mine was closed by police while health workers in protective clothing took temperatures as part of COVID-19 precautions.

Around 600 people are involved in the rescue, up to 25 ambulances are waiting on site, as well as neurosurgeons, trauma specialists and psychologists.

A Reuters team saw fire engines and cars coming and going through a checkpoint on an access road.

CCTV footage showed several large cranes, trucks and construction machinery standing on a bare cliff at the rescue site on Wednesday.

A borehole had to be sealed with cement after a water leak threatened miners’ safety [Stringer via AFP]According to Chen Fei, a senior city official, progress on the rescue has been slow because the mine’s water-filled condition could make granulation more difficult.

Nighttime temperatures in Qixia will drop below freezing for the next week.

Several replacement waterproof phones were sent to the trapped miners after they posted a second note Tuesday morning saying earlier phones had been damaged, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Rescue teams initially lost valuable time as it took more than a day to report the accident, China Youth Daily reported, citing provincial authorities.

Both the Communist Party secretary and the mayor have been sacked for being 30 hours late, and an official investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the explosion.

The trending hashtag “Shandong trapped miners sent another message” received more than 170 million views on the Chinese Twitter-like female Weibo network as of Wednesday morning when China began to take note of the extraordinary rescue effort.

Mining accidents are common in China, where the industry has a poor safety record and regulations are often poorly enforced.

In December, 23 workers died after being stuck underground in southwestern Chongqing City.