It will take at least another 15 days to get a lot of waste and reach the miners they have already been caught for 11 days since the explosion of a gold mine in eastern China, authorities said Thursday.
The mine shaft is blocked 1,000 feet below the surface by 70 tons of debris spanning another 330 feet, the Yantai city government said in a statement on its social media account.
“Based on expert assessments, the scope of the blockade … falls short of expectations,” the statement said.
A worker has died from head injuries in the blast, state media reported Thursday. Of the remaining 21, rescuers have made contact with ten, one is said to be alive in a nearby room and the condition of the other 10 is unknown.
Xinhua / Wang Kai / Getty
The dead worker had been in a coma and two others are said to be in poor health. Rescuers they have delivered food, medicines and other supplies to the group of 11 while working to eliminate waste and improve ventilation.
State media reported that exhaustion had occurred among some of the workers since the January 10 explosion devastated the mine that was under construction in Qixia, a jurisdiction under Yantai in Shandong Province.
Lifeguards attempted to clean cages and other debris that blocked the main shaft while drilling other shafts for communication, ventilation, and possibly elevating workers to the surface. The boredomers have reached a depth of about 2,000 feet, according to reports.
Mine managers have been arrested for waiting more than 24 hours before reporting the crash, the cause of which has not been announced.
Increased surveillance has improved safety in China’s mining industry, which used to reach an average of 5,000 deaths a year. However, demand for coal and precious metals continues to cut corners, and two accidents in Chongqing last year killed 39 miners.