Trapped China gold miners have to wait 15 days for rescue (updated)

China Gold International Resources

21/01/2021 11:08

(Recasts with details of time needed to clear blockage)
    By Emily Chow
    QIXIA, China, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Workers trapped in a gold
mine in China since Jan. 10 may have to wait another 15 days
before they can be rescued because of a blockage on their
intended escape route, officials said on Thursday.
    A total of 22 workers were trapped underground after an
explosion at the Hushan mine in Qixia, a major gold-producing
region under the administration of Yantai in Shandong province
on the northeast coast. 
    One is confirmed to have died, while 11 are known to be
alive. The remaining 10 are missing.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JV0LG
    Rescuers were drilling new shafts on Thursday to reach 10 of
the men in the middle section of the mine, more than 600 metres
from the entrance, who have been sent food and medical supplies.
Another survivor has been found in a different section.
    The shafts include one 711-mm (28-inch) diameter shaft that
rescuers hope to use to bring the survivors to safety.
    However, at least another 15 days may be needed to clear
obstacles, Gong Haitao, deputy head of Yantai's propaganda
department, told a news conference at the headquarters of the
rescue operation.
    A "severe blockage" 350 metres down was much worse than
feared, officials said, adding that it was about 100 metres
thick and weights some 70 tonnes.
    Thick smog, reeking of chemicals, hung over the muddy road
leading up to the mine site and a row of ambulances on standby
in a carpark, reducing visibility to a few hundred metres.
    Police have sealed off the road to the mine, cutting through
muddy apple orchards and warehouses, to ensure rescue efforts
are not hampered. Health workers in white protective gear took
temperatures beside mounded earth and tents as part of COVID-19
precautions. 
    About 600 people are involved in the rescue, with as many as
25 ambulances waiting at the scene, as well as neurosurgeons,
trauma specialists and psychologists.
    A Reuters team saw fire trucks and cars coming and going
through a checkpoint on an approach road.   
    China's mines are among the world's deadliest. It has
recorded 573 mine-related deaths in 2020, according to the
National Mine Safety Administration.

 (Reporting by Emily Chow in Qixia; Writing by David Stanway,
Gabriel Crossley and Michael Perry and Tom Daly; Editing by
Robert Birsel and Gerry Doyle)
 ((david.stanway@thomsonreuters.com; +86 21 2083 0066;))