‘I feel like I am reborn’: rescued Chinese miners speak of ordeal

Two Chinese miners who were rescued after being trapped underground for two weeks have described their joy and relief at being free.

Eleven men from a group of 22 were pulled out alive by rescue workers on Sunday after a mine blast on 10 January in east China’s Shandong province entombed them hundreds of metres underground.

“I feel like I am reborn,” one of the miners, whose name was Du, was quoted as saying by state broadcaster CGTN, as he spoke to reporters from his hospital bed.

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“We had no food to eat for the first nine days,” he added. “There are no words to describe the feeling [of being rescued]. So relieved.”

Du was part of a group of 11 miners who first managed to make contact with rescuers on 17 January by sending a note up a long shaft drilled into the rock. They were then sent food and medicine and phones to communicate.

“We knew clearly how hard it was to drill that deep. We were trapped nearly 600 metres below ground. It was a daunting task,” another survivor called Wang told CGTN. “We are so happy.”

One of the first group died last week of head injuries sustained from the explosion, while a further nine workers found in a different part of the mine were confirmed dead on Monday, according to local officials.

Rescue teams on Wednesday were still searching for one missing miner.

The survivors were all in “stable” condition and receiving hospital treatment, local officials said.

“We comforted each other with encouraging words. That’s how we pulled through,” said Du from his hospital bed, adding that some of the group were “pessimistic, while others were hopeful”.

Emergency workers had been battling difficult conditions, including high waters in parts of the mine, to drill several holes to reach the trapped men.

Another miner was found alive by rescuers as they attempted to reach the group of 10 on Sunday.

Both the local Communist party secretary and the mayor have been sacked over the 30-hour delay in reporting the explosion. An investigation is under way to determine the cause.