CHANGZHI, Shanxi - A team of 80 volunteers finished a 48 hour stay in an emergency refuge chamber in a coal mine on Sunday to test the capacity of the underground rescue facility.

Considered the most advanced coal mine refuge shelter in China, the rescue chamber in the Changcun Mine in Changzhi city, North China's Shanxi province, is equipped with oxygen, electricity, and telecommunication equipment, and a permanent borehole connects it to the outside world, allowing air, fresh water and food to be lowered down.

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Built in May 2010, the newly developed facility is believed to be able to sustain 80 to 100 miners for a long period after a coal mine disaster. Jin Longzhe, researcher from the Beijing University of Science and Technology, said the traditional rescue shelter in China's coal mines can only hold 5 to 8 people at a time and is not as well equipped as the new refuge chamber.

The widespread use of this refuge chamber will greatly improve the safety of the country's coal mines, Jin said.