Day-long ordeal over as men lifted from flooded coal pit to sunlight

A miner, his eyes protected against the glaring light, is escorted out of the flooded mine in Weiyuan, Sichuan province, on Monday. Emergency services resuced all 29 men after they were trapped when water inundated the Batian Coal Mine at 11:40 am on Sunday. [Photo/Xinhua]

WEIYUAN, Sichuan - All 29 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine in Sichuan province for more than a day were rescued on Monday.

"It has been nearly 26 hours since the miners were trapped underground after floodwater gushed into the mine on Sunday morning," said Tang Limin, Party chief of Neijiang city, at a news conference on Monday.

The survivors included two deputy chiefs of the Batian Coal Mine in Weiyuan, a county under Neijiang's administration.

The miners were immediately taken to hospital for treatment and observation.

"They appeared weak but none had any visible injuries. Medics from the Sichuan Provincial Hospital found they were in stable condition," said Li Wei, a medic at the Weiyuan county hospital.

The mine was flooded at around 11:40 am on Sunday when 35 men were underground, but 13 managed to escape.

After the flooding, seven entered the mine in an attempt to rescue their colleagues only to become trapped themselves.

Rescuers started pumping water from the mine on Sunday afternoon and as more pumping equipment arrived on site, water levels receded enough to allow a rescue operation on Monday morning.

"At 10:28 am, three rescuers swam into the pit and learned all the 29 trapped men were alive. At about 11 am, they managed to send them milk," said Song Jianjun, deputy chief of the Weiyuan county work safety bureau.

At 12:25 pm, Liu Mingquan, 47, became the first miner to be lifted to safety. Supported by medics, and with his eyes shielded against the harsh sunlight, Liu managed to walk to an ambulance.

Asked how he felt, he said clearly: "I am OK."

By 1:18 pm, all 29 trapped men had been brought to the surface. Zhang Hongliang, one of the mine's deputy chiefs, was the last to emerge.

It was earlier reported that 28 men, including six rescuers, were trapped as Zhang had not been included in the initial tally.

As each of the miners emerged from the shaft, a doctor and four nurses immediately administered first aid. According to Tang, more than 100 medical workers were at the scene.

The water in the mine had reached the miners' necks, rescue workers said.

Ma Zhiyuan, a member of the rescue team, told China Daily that while the miners had escaped serious injury they had been traumatized by their ordeal.

Almost submerged in water, in total darkness and hungry "they appeared nervous when we found them", he said.

Li Chengyun, deputy governor of Sichuan, who was at the scene to oversee the rescue mission, pledged they would receive excellent medical care.

The privately run coal mine had halted production because of a renovation project to boost its annual output capacity from 50,000 tons to 60,000 tons before the accident, according to the State Administration of Work Safety.

The floodwater, estimated at around 5,000 cubic meters, was believed to have come from an abandoned shaft, it said.

Last year, 2,631 Chinese miners died, according to official statistics.

Last month, a gas blast in a coal mine in Henan province killed 37 mine workers.

The government has vowed to close dangerous mines and improve safety. Authorities overseeing mine safety said last week all collieries would be required to install emergency shelters by June 2013 to protect miners in the event of accidents.

However, State-owned mines were required to set an example by completing the facilities in 2012.

Yan Jie in Beijing contributed to this story.