Xinhua / Wang Kai / Getty
Beijing – At least 12 gold miners trapped hundreds of meters underground in China for more than a week sent a note warning that they are injured, surrounded by water and are in dire need of medicine. Twenty-two workers were trapped more than 650 meters from the mine entrance after an explosion eight days ago near the city of Qixia, in eastern Shandong province.
After days with no sign of life, rescue workers heard the sound of thumps on Sunday afternoon as they drilled the mine shaft.
A note was sent on a line from the depths below saying that at least a dozen miners are still alive, but that they urgently need help as their health deteriorates.
“We urgently need medicine, painkillers, tape, external anti-inflammatories and three people have high blood pressure,” said the note.
The condition of the other ten workers is unknown.
Four people were injured, according to the note, which was wrinkled, stained with water and scrawled in pencil on the torn pages of a notebook.
“We hope that the rescue team does not stop so that we can still hope. Thank you, ”said the note.
Xinhua / Wang Kai / Getty
The author of the note asked rescuers to send some medicines from his car and warned that there was a large amount of groundwater where the miners are trapped.
Rescuers were later able to speak to some of the trapped workers after putting a phone line in the mine, local officials said at a news conference on Monday, without giving details of what was said.
Images from the state television station CCTV showed rescuers applauding when the crash sound was detected and later running to read the note that was glued to a sunken line below using a pneumatic drill.
“Race against time“
The video showed rescuers sending food and drinks attached to a wire through a small opening for miners.
The hope of a miraculous rescue after an ordeal of days sparked a wave of sympathy and encouragement on Chinese social media.
The hashtag “Qixia gold mine incident” has been viewed 130 million times on the popular social media site Weibo.
“I saw the note while watching the morning news and started to cry,” wrote a Weibo user. “I hope they will rescue the trapped workers as soon as possible.”
Some rescue workers wore fur hats to avoid the cold, while others appeared covered in dust and dirt from the rescue operation.
Rescuers plan to drill several tunnels in the mine to release air, as well as deliver supplies, CCTV said, as work continues to bring the men back to safety.
Chen Fei, a leading city official, said the mission was a “race against time”.
“We need to win the race,” he said at a news conference on Friday.
The explosion severely damaged the mine’s communications system and exit ladder, which is owned by Shandong Wucailong Investment Co. Ltd.
Two employees have already been laid off by the accident, while provincial authorities have opened an investigation into the cause of the explosion.
Mining accidents are common in China, where the industry has an unsatisfactory safety record and regulations are often misapplied.
In December, 23 workers died after being trapped underground in the southwestern city of Chongqing, a few months after another 16 died of carbon monoxide poisoning after being trapped underground in another coal mine in the city.