A dozen Chinese gold miners trapped thousands of feet underground for more than a week have sent an urgent note saying four are injured and the others were in poor condition, according to reports.
“We urgently need medication, painkillers, medical tape, external anti-inflammatory drugs and three people have high blood pressure,” the note says, according to Agence France-Presse.
According to the Xinhua Nerws agency, it was unknown if 10 other miners were still alive.
Twenty-two workers were trapped about 2,000 meters below the surface after an explosion eight days ago near Qixia City in eastern Shandong Province.
After days with no sign of life, lifeguards heard blows Sunday afternoon as they drilled the mine shaft.
“We hope rescuers don’t stop so we can have hope. Thank you,” he read the crumpled, water-stained note written in pencil.
The writer asked lifeguards to send medicine from the car and warned that there was a lot of water where the miners get trapped.
Lifeguards were later able to speak with some of the miners after dropping a phone line, officials told a news conference Monday.
Hopes for a miraculous rescue sparked an outpouring of sympathy and encouragement on social media.
The “Qixia Gold Mine Incident” tag was seen 130 million times on the popular social networking site Weibo.
“I saw the note as I watched the morning news and burst into tears,” one Weibo user wrote. “I hope they will rescue the trapped workers as soon as possible.”
Operators of the operation were arrested after failing to report the accident for more than a day.
The mine had been under construction at the time of the explosion, which took place on 10 January.
With publishing cables