Rescuers pull trapped miners from pit blast

By Chen Qian  |   2008-6-14  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

MORE than 100 rescuers were working to free 34 miners trapped below ground following an explosion at a coal mine in northern China's Shanxi Province yesterday.

Nine miners were rescued by 7pm last night. They were lifted from the pit one by one between 5:50pm and 6:10pm.

Ma Yingguo, from central China's Hubei Province, was the first miner to get out. He could walk on his own and asked rescuers to hasten their work, Xinhua news agency reported. Doctors quickly bandaged his eyes and rushed him to a hospital.

The explosion occurred about 11am in the Anxin Coal Mine in Xiaoyi City.

Local officials said 58 miners were working underground at the time, 15 of whom were rescued. Most of the trapped miners were from Chongqing Municipality and Hubei and Sichuan provinces.

The mine's licenses and certificates were valid and it passed a safety inspection earlier this year, officials said.

Meanwhile in Hubei Province, seven miners have been trapped in a coal mine after a gas explosion late on Thursday, rescuers said yesterday.

The miners were 700 meters underground at the Tuya Coal Mine in Hefeng County when the explosion occurred. Rescuers had to put on gas masks to locate the miners. Last night it wasn't clear whether they were still alive, according to Xinhua.