BEIJING (AP) – On Sunday, eleven workers trapped for two weeks by an explosion inside a Chinese gold mine were brought to the surface safely.
State broadcaster CCTV showed that on Sunday afternoon the workers were transported one by one in baskets, with their eyes protected to protect them after so many days in the dark.
A worker was reported to have died from a head injury after the blast that deposited large amounts of debris on the shaft on January 10 while the mine was still under construction.
The fate of 10 others who were clandestine at the time is unknown. Authorities have arrested mine managers for delaying notification of the crash.
The official China newspaper said on its website that seven of the workers were able to walk to the ambulances on their own.
The state-run CCTV station showed numerous ambulances parked next to engineering vehicles at the Qixia mine, a jurisdiction under Yantai in Shandong province.
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 cause the corner cut, and two accidents in Chongqing last year killed 39 miners.