BEIJING (AP) – Chinese rescue workers found the bodies of nine workers killed in explosions in a gold mine, bringing the death toll to 10, officials said on Monday.
Eleven others were rescued the day before, after being trapped underground for two weeks at the mine in Shandong province. One person was still missing.
The cause of the accident at the mine, which was under construction, is under investigation. The January 10 explosions released 70 tonnes of debris that blocked a well, disabling elevators and trapping workers underground.
Rescuers drilled parallel wells to send food and nutrients and eventually bring survivors on Sunday.
Chen Yumin, director of the rescue group, told reporters that the nine workers recovered on Monday died more than 400 meters (1,320 feet) below the ground. He said there were two explosions about an hour and a half apart, with the second explosion causing more damage.
Search efforts will continue for the remaining miner until he is found, said Chen Fei, the mayor of the city of Yantai, where the mine is located.
“Until this worker is found, we will not give up,” he said at a news conference.
Chen and other authorities involved in the rescue effort took a moment of silence for the victims, lowering their heads.
“Our hearts are deeply sad. We express our deepest condolences and our deepest condolences to the victim’s families, ”he said.
Authorities detained mine managers for delaying reporting of the accident.
These time-consuming and expensive rescue efforts are relatively new to China’s mining industry, which used to average 5,000 deaths a year.
Increased supervision has improved security, although demand for coal and precious metals continues to encourage corner cutting. A new crackdown was ordered after two accidents in the mountainous southwest of Chongqing last year killed 39 miners.