It will take at least another 15 days to pass through a large amount of debris and reach the miners who have already been arrested 11 days since an explosion at a gold mine in eastern China, officials said on Thursday.
The mine shaft is blocked 1,000 feet below the surface by 70 tonnes of rubble that stretches for another 330 feet, the Yantai city government said in a statement in its social media account.
“Based on expert assessments, the extent of the blockade … is well outside expectations,” the statement said.
A worker died of head injuries in the blast, state media reported on Thursday. Of the remaining 21, rescuers made contact with 10, one is alive in a nearby chamber and the status of the other 10 is unknown.
Xinhua / Wang Kai / Getty
The deceased worker was in a coma and two others would have health problems. First Aid delivered food, medicine and other supplies for the group of 11 as they work to remove debris and improve ventilation.
State media reports said the exhaustion had settled among some of the workers since the January 10 explosion at the mine that was under construction in Qixia, a jurisdiction under Yantai in Shandong province.
Rescuers were trying to clean the cages and other debris that blocked the main well while drilling other wells for communication, ventilation and possibly to lift workers to the surface. The drilling reached depths of about 2,000 feet, the reports said.
Mine managers were arrested for waiting more than 24 hours before reporting the accident, the cause of which was not disclosed.
Increased supervision has improved safety in China’s mining industry, which used to average 5,000 deaths a year. Still, demand for coal and precious metals continues to spur corner cuts, and two accidents in Chongqing last year killed 39 miners.