Rescue Work Suspended Due to Cave-in in Flooded Coal Mine in S. China

Rescue work suspended due to cave-in in flooded coal mine in S. China

SHANTOU, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) — Water pumping and rescue work were suspended due to cave-in in part of the flooded coal mine with 120 miners trapped in south China’s Guangdong Province, rescuers said Sunday.

The cave-in happened continuously from the midnight of Saturday till the Sunday morning, rescuers said, but no casualty was reported.

Experts attributed the mine cave-in chiefly to the long-time soaking in water, adding that it may endanger the safety of rescuers. The rescue was hence suspended temporarily.

The accident occurred at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 7 in the Daxing Coal Mine of Xingning City. 123 miners were reported missing, only four escaped.

To date, rescuers have recovered three bodies of trapped miners, and there is little hope for any of the remaining 120 victims buried in the mine to survive, rescuers have said.