BEIJING (AP) – Eleven workers trapped for two weeks by an explosion inside a Chinese gold mine were safely brought to the surface on Sunday.
State broadcaster CCTV showed workers being dragged one by one in baskets on Sunday afternoon, with their eyes protected to protect them after so many days in the darkness.
A worker was reported to have died of a head injury after the explosion that deposited large amounts of rubble in the well on January 10, while the mine was still under construction.
The fate of 10 other people who were underground at the time is unknown. Authorities detained mine managers for delaying reporting of the accident.
The official China Daily said on its website that seven of the workers were able to walk on their own to ambulances.
State broadcaster CCTV showed several ambulances parked alongside engineering vehicles at the mine in Qixia, a jurisdiction under Yantai in Shandong province.
Increased supervision has improved safety in China’s mining industry, which used to average 5,000 deaths a year. However, demand for coal and precious metals continues to encourage corner cutting, and two accidents in Chongqing last year killed 39 miners.