One of the miners rescued from the mine in Qixia, China, January 24, 2021. -
STR / CNS / AFP
Nine of the ten miners still trapped underground in a gold mine in China for two weeks have been found dead, local authorities said on Monday.
Twenty-two people were stuck in a mine in Qixia, in eastern Shandong province, several hundred meters deep since an explosion on January 10.
No news from the last minor
Last week, an injured miner died underground from his injuries.
And on Sunday, 11 workers had already been brought to the surface in front of the cameras of national television.
However, despite the "tireless efforts" of rescuers, "nine other miners were unfortunately found dead" and "their bodies brought to the surface," Chen Fei, the mayor of Yantai - the city that administers Qixia, told reporters.
The search continues to find the last miner trapped underground.
Rescuers have not heard from him.
The explosion had caused extensive damage preventing the miners from coming to the surface.
Thanks to a metal cable lowered via a conduit dug in the rock, the rescuers were however able to transmit food, medicine and telephones to some of the miners.
Two weeks to release the last minor
The rescuers had launched in parallel in the drilling of several conduits to access the men trapped underground.
Due to the hardness of the underground rocks, relief efforts estimated on Friday that at least two weeks would still be needed to release them.
But operations had suddenly accelerated Sunday.
While mine safety has improved significantly over the past decades, accidents still occur regularly in China, where regulations are sometimes not enforced.
In December, 23 miners were killed in a coal mine in Chongqing (southwest).
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