Rescuers are trying to save the 17 miners left stranded
underground after a coal mine was flooded in Heye Township of
Guiyang County, in central China's Hunan
Province at 7:50 PM Friday, said an official in charge of the
provincial coal mine safety supervision.
By 9:30 AM Saturday, the number of the trapped miners was
initially confirmed at 17, the official said, adding that the
flooding of the coal mine was caused by heavy rain pouring into the
inclined shaft of the mine Friday.
Rescue team headed by the director of the provincial coal mine
safety supervision administration has rushed to the accident site.
But due to the complex situation underground in the mine, they
could not know whether the missing miners were still alive by the
press time.
(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2005)