Nine of the 153 miners trapped in the Wangjialing mine in Shanxi last Sunday have been rescued, China Daily reports:
The survivors were immediately sent to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Their blood pressure and heart rates remained normal after having being trapped in the shaft for one week.
The workers are Mao Xiaoyong, Jin Qunhong, Zhang Chuangye, Hu Qianhai, Li Guoyu, Meng Xiaobing, Shi Fenglei, Zhang Xiaobo and Zhao Xinquan. All of them maintained stable health conditions and lucid mind, capable of telling who they are and where they are from.
One of the survivors, named Li Guoyu, 38, had a lucid mind and told doctors that he comes from central China’s Henan Province.
Li said they had been unable to pass urine for two days, because they dared not drink the murky water flowing in the tunnel.
A total of 144 other fellow miners remain trapped, but rescue workers heard banging on the metal pipe, indicating further signs of life.
Update: AP now reports that dozens of miners have now been rescued from the mine:
State television says a total of 86 people are expected to be pulled from the mine, in addition to the first nine soaked miners who were rescued early Monday morning. The state-run Xinhua News Agency says more than 90 survivors are expected.
A live broadcast shows miners wrapped in blankets being carried to ambulances, which are speeding from the scene toward waiting medical teams in hospitals nearby.
