Four Chinese miners were rescued Friday one-by-one after being trapped 700 feet underground in a gypsum mine for 36 days, according to Chinese state media.
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Five days later, rescuers who lowered infrared cameras into the mine found four survivors, CCTV reported.
The gypsum mine in Pingyi, in China’s eastern Shandong province, collapsed on Christmas Day.
Shortly afterwards, rescuers began slowly drilling a route to save them, sending food and clothes through four small tunnels until they finalized a way to pull the miners to safety.
This is the first time that such a technology has been undertaken in China, Xinhua said, citing the rescue headquarters.
One more miner is expected to be saved later in the night, rescuers told Xinhua.
Seventeen people were trapped by the collapse.
The collapse on December 25 was so violent it registered as a seismic event registering magnitude 4.
The men were working extracting Gypsum, a soft sulfate mineral that is widely used in construction.
For several weeks, they were tunnelling down to the surviving men, and water and liquids were passed down through a narrow borehole.
Despite safety improvements in recent years, China’s mines remain blighted by accidents, while factory and other fatal industrial accidents are also common. Four local government officials have been fired.
BEIJING: Chinese state media report 2 trapped miners rescued after 36 days underground.
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Two days after the Pingyi mine collapse, the mine’s owner Ma Congbo jumped into a mine well in an apparent suicide.
