Rescuers make contact with 12 trapped underground for over a week after Chinese gold mine blast
- Fate of 10 others who were trapped hundreds of metres below the surface remains unknown
- Mine managers detained after failing to alert authorities for 30 hours while conducting their own rescue operation
Rescuers at the Hushan mine in Qixia, Shandong province, received a note from the survivors saying 12 of the 22 workers were still alive on Sunday afternoon, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The condition of the other 10 people was unknown, according to the note sent back after rescuers sent down a metal wire with supplies attached.
The blast happened on January 10 in a shaft around 240 metres (790 feet) underground, trapping 22 people who were working at a depth of more than 600 metres. The accident was not reported to the local authorities until 30 hours later, causing a serious delay in rescue efforts, according the municipal government.
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China: 12 trapped workers alive after gold mine blast in Shandong province
The survivors, who had been unable to make contact with the outside world until Sunday, said they were exhausted and four of them were injured, according to the note published by Xinhua.
“We are in urgent need of stomach medicine, painkillers, medical tape, external anti-inflammatory drugs,” it read. “Three people have high blood pressure so we need antihypertensive drugs. I have two types of them in my car. Please send them down.”