Chinese rescuers today pulled out alive 45 people trapped under a heap of rocks for the past two days in a coal mine in central China, where a cave-in claimed lives of eight workers.
A rock burst had occurred in the Qianqiu Coal Mine in Sanmenxia city of Henan province following a 2.9-magnitude earthquake on Thursday evening.
Eight workers were killed in the accident when rocks collapsed in the mine after the earthquake. A total of 75 workers were present in the mine at the time of accident.
Rescuers today pulled to surface the remaining 45 trapped miners. The last miner to be rescued was seen waving to the rescue team as he walked out of the Qianqiu Coal Mine this morning. After the accident, four miners were confirmed dead immediately. Fourteen workers had managed to escape while 57 got trapped, the official Xinhua reported.
Rescuers had saved eight workers yesterday and recovered four bodies today, bringing the death toll to eight. The coal mine, with an annual production capacity of 2.1 million tonnes, belongs to Yima Coal Group, a major state-owned enterprise in Henan.