CHINA: Mine flood survivors reunited with families

Record ID: 1963358

  • Title: CHINA: Mine flood survivors reunited with families
  • Date: 13th April 2010
  • Summary: HEJIN CITY, SHANXI PROVINCE, CHINA (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (APRIL 11, 2010) (CCTV - NO ACCESS CHINA) RELATIVES WAITING OUTSIDE HOSPITAL BASKET OF FRUIT AND BOX CONTAINING FOOD PRESENTS RELATIVES WAITING IN HOSPITAL CORRIDOR RELATIVES CARRYING HAMPERS AND WAITING MEDICAL WORKER HELPING MAN PUT ON FACE MASK RELATIVES WALKING INTO WARD AREA MINER LIU CAICHENG SITTING IN BED B
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  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Health
  • Reuters ID: LVAC7M6MHKDMNUKBFB5134ST2VTF
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Survivors of a mine flood in northern China are reunited with their families in a hospital, more than two weeks after the accident which left 35 dead and three are still missing.
    Survivors of a mine flood in northern China are being reunited with their families in hospital, Chinese state media reported on Monday (April 12), over two weeks after the accident which left 35 dead.
    Officials said 153 miners were trapped in the unfinished Wangjialing mine in Xiangning, Shanxi province, when water gushed in.
    At least 115 were pulled out alive after surviving more than a week by eating tree bark and drinking filthy water.
    Most of the rescued miners were in stable condition by this weekend, but many have been suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and skin infections, state media said.
    Relatives of survivors were overjoyed to see their husbands, fathers or children, after a rescue operation that state media labelled a 'miracle.' Liu Zongya, son of miner Liu Caicheng, thought he might never see his father again.
    "I am so excited. As long as my father is safe...," he told China Central Television (CCTV).
    "I am very happy. I am very happy to see my family and talk with them."
    The wife of another miner embraced her husband as he sat in his hospital bed.
    "Everything is fine now. He was rescued. Our whole family is so happy now. I thank the Party and the government, and also all of you. Thank you all," she said.
    The search went on for three more men still unaccounted for at the mine in China's coal-producing heartland, the State Administration of Work Safety said.
    The rescue effort has stalled in the past week, with high water levels, blocked passages and hazardous levels of gas hindering progress.
    After the initial elation of bringing up so many miners alive, rescuers have since been recovering several bodies most days.
    Zhen Zhen, wife of survivor Ji Qunhong, said she was proud of her husband for making it.
    "He is a real man. I am teaching my child to look up to him and learn from him. Who is a real man? Your father is a real man," she said.
    Many of the miners affected by the accident were rural migrants, some hailing from provinces on the other side of the vast country.
    Workers are tempted into hazardous jobs in China's mines by wages that can be much higher than for most other jobs open to blue-collar workers and rural migrants.
    Strong demand for energy and lax safety standards have made China's mines often deadly places to work, despite a government drive to clamp down on small, unsafe operations where most accidents occur.
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