3 trapped Chinese coal miners rescued after 8 days
World
3 trapped Chinese coal miners rescued after 8 days
Rescue workers recovered three men trapped underground for more than eight days on Sunday according to state news agency Xinhua. The men became stuck when a shaft in the Yongxing Gaozhuang coal mine collapsed in northwest Shaanxi province on October 17, Xinhua said. Relatives waiting outside the mine expressed their relief. Twenty-four men had already managed to escape the mine, but the remaining three had found a site with fresh air and clean water. The rescue team drilling in to reach them had supplied them with food and drinking water from October 22, Xinhua reported. The rescued men were taken to hospital and were in a stable condition, according to Xinhua. A government investigation into the accident will now begin, a local official told Xinhua. The privately-owned coal mine has all the correct licenses and holds around 15 million tonnes of coal in reserve, Xinhua said. China's mines are the deadliest in the world, due to lax safety standards and a rush to feed demand from a booming economy. More than 3,000 people died in coal mine accidents in 2008 alone.
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