Scores of miners found alive after eight days trapped underground

[hyphenate]

Source: Times Online

Jane Macartney, Beijing

Rescue workers have pulled dozens more miners alive from a flooded coal mine in northern China, just hours after nine colleagues were hauled up following a week trapped underground.

The 86 men were found by teams who had been descending in rotation round the clock into the shafts of the Wangjialing mine. They were led to the survivors by the sound of banging on pipes along the flooded shafts.

After following the sound of tapping through the tunnels, the rescuers saw the trapped miners swinging their lamps to attract their attention.

The workers were brought one by one out of the mine entrance, each strapped to a stretcher and wrapped from head to toe in green blankets, their eyes protected from the light by towels.


Read more: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7087807.ece

---

It's really nice to hear good news out of a tragedy, regardless of where it happens to be. There are a lot of families now who will cry with joy that their husbands/sons/grandsons didn't die in the mine.

[napi21]

1. That's good news. You're right. even if it was in China and

involves coal mining. Bless them all.

[ro1942]

12. Even if it was China?

Is there something wrong with the Chinese?

[lumberjack_jeff]

23. I think the poster was making an allusion to the last sentence in the OP.

"regardless of where it happens to be"

At best, I think the OP could have chosen his words better.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. That is great news!

I think the worst thing miners fear is getting trapped.

How good these were rescued!

[TheDebbieDee]

4. Agreed. This is good news...........

I'm very happy for the miners and their families.

[CherokeeDem]

3. Great news...

I have had many miners in my family and while we have been fortunate to never lose one of our family members to a mining accident, it is a frightening and terrible thing for these people to go through. Good to see a good ending to this story.

[XemaSab]

7. There's ghosts in the tunnels that the company seals

:(

[Judi Lynn]

5. Hope they will all make it out alive. This is very good to hear. n/t

[Skittles]

6. WOOO!!

yes INDEED!

[PDJane]

8. That is very good news.........

and I'm glad to hear good news from that corner. Mining accidents are a horrible way to die...I'm glad they've been rescued.

[Tx4obama]

9. Total: 114 survivors so far!

Excerpt from The AP:

A live state television broadcast counted off the number of survivors brought above ground - 114 as of 2:15 p.m. local time (0615 GMT; 2:15 a.m. EDT) - as miners wrapped in blankets were hurried to waiting ambulances that sped wailing to nearby hospitals.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_MINE_FLOOD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-04-05-02-20-05

[dipsydoodle]

10. Did you see the line of ambulances on tv news ?

They had one standing by for each and every trapped miner. Good response that.

[rasputin1952]

11. I just saw that when checking my e-mail...Great news!!!

Started off my day on a positive note!...:woohoo:

[Javaman]

13. I'm glad so many were found alive, but...

however, China has an atrocious record regarding mine safety. They don't have any where near the type of safety regulations we have here. As a result, in their rush to grow, the frequency of these types of mine disasters is pretty high.

COAL MINE DEATHS IN CHINA
http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=321&catid=13&subcatid=85

Chinese miners are 350 times more likely to die at their workplace than their American or British counterparts. In terms of production the statistics are even worse. In China there are 7.29 deaths per million tons of coal produced, compared to 0.04 deaths in the United States, 0.47 deaths in India, and 0.23 deaths in Poland. There are nearly as many fatalities a day (16) in Chinese mines as there are in U.S. mines in a year (22).

[momster]

16. Their mines are like ours in the 90's-'30's

It wasn't until the unions organized that conditions improved. I hope it doesn't take 40 years for the Chinese mine workers to get proper safety and wages.

[Javaman]

18. perhaps they should get real unions instead of those only sanctioned by the government.

but that would get in the way of china's cheap labor.

[Peace Patriot]

14. I'm so glad to hear that so many miners were found alive! Kudos to the emergency workers who

and to any government officials involved, who did not give up. The emergency workers found the trapped miners at some risk to themselves, I believe--entering the damaged mine. I didn't have much hope for the trapped miners. This is great news!

[closeupready]

15. OMG, that is so terrific!

:woohoo: :)

[Uncle Joe]

17. I'm happy for the miners and their families.

Thanks for the thread, hyphenate.

[hyphenate]

22. You're welcome. I like good news, too. :) eom

[Scurrilous]

19. K & R

:thumbsup:

[gvstn]

20. Great news!

I'm always impressed that mining companies really do go all out to find trapped miners. Even ones you know cut corners during normal operations seem to step up when an emergency happens.

Mining looks like a truly awful job and it is good to see that the worker's lives still mean something to the corporations.

Kudos to rescuer's at the Wangjialing mine! :)

[RamboLiberal]

21. Great News!

I still remember the elation at Quecreek in my area when we got 9 out alive.

[David__77]

24. Chinese hail 'miracle' rescue of 115 miners

Source: Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Beijing - For once, it was good news that came from the depths of a Chinese coal mine as 115 workers were rescued Monday after eight days and eight nights trapped deep inside a mine in Shanxi province.

The extraordinary rescue turned into a round-the-clock reality show with state-run TV broadcasting live footage of the rescue workers carrying out the miners to a cheering audience. Rescue crews were still hoping as of Monday night to bring out 38 more miners.

...

Coal mining is one of the most dangerous jobs in China, with the quest for profits often leading to shortcuts in worker safety. In 2008, nearly 7,000 people were killed in coal mining accidents in China, although last year the toll fell to 2,631.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fgw-china-miners-rescue-05-2010apr5,0,7266477.story

[David__77]

25. China is moving to merge small mining companies in safety move.

It's interesting that due to these safety problems, and bolstered by political conditions relating to the world financial crisis, China is moving to merge the many small privately owned mines with large state-owned mining companies. While it is likely that this alone will improve safety conditions, it is unlikely to be anywhere close to sufficient. Instead, there must be an intensive investment in resources to ensure worker safety, and an increase in participation by workers in enterprise management and policymaking.