Mine rescuers face difficulties

Rescuers continued to work around the clock to clear a path to miners who were trapped underground since Saturday night, according to local authorities.

A rock burst occurred around 11 pm on Saturday, destroying part of a water drainage tunnel in a coal mine operated by Shandong Longyun Coal Industry Co in Yuncheng county, Shandong province, and trapping 22 miners underground.

As of noon on Monday, 18 workers remained trapped in the mine. Three others have died, including one who was lifted out on Sunday afternoon and given medical treatment. One was lifted out on Sunday afternoon and is now in the hospital.

Rescuers were 40 meters from the miners, Wang Duanwu, head of the rescue team, said at a news conference on Monday. They face severe difficulty clearing the tunnel as the roof of the passageway was severely damaged and work needed to be done first to stabilize it, he said.

"In addition, it's likely that there are miners buried in the 40-meter-long passage, so we have to clear carefully, which will slow the progress," Wang said.

"As long as there is a sliver of hope, we won't give up and abandon them. We will use every means possible to rescue the trapped miners," he said.