All of the 69 miners who were hospitalized immediately after they were rescued on Wednesday from a flooded coal mine in Henan Province have recovered and left for home.

The last two miners who were allowed to leave early on Saturday after further observation were identified as Zhang Qunguan and Yuan Hongjun, both natives from Shanxian, a county on the middle reaches of the Yellow River.

Late on Friday, 67 of the hospitalized miners were discharged from the hospitals, said an official in charge of publicity with Shanxian County government of Henan Province, where the flooded coal mine is located.

The miners have been told to be recuperating at home for two more months, with a guarantee saying each of them will get 2,000 yuan of salary together with 500 yuan for nutrition per month. In addition, all 69 miners had been given 500 yuan of compensation by the Henan Provincial Federation of Trade Unions and Sanmenxia City Federation of Trade Unions before their discharge from hospital.

The flooding occurred at around 8:40 AM Sunday at the Zhijian coal mine in Shanxian County, about 200 km west of Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan, when 102 miners were working underground. Only 33 miners managed to escape.

All the 69 miners were rescued early Wednesday afternoon after they were trapped inside a flooded coal mine for more than three days.

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2007)