69 miners trapped in Chinese coal mine are alive

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BEIJING, July 31 (AFP): Sixty-nine workers trapped in a flooded Chinese coal mine for over two days are alive, but it is impossible to say whether rescue efforts will succeed, authorities said Tuesday.
"The 69 miners are still alive. We are in contact with them at the moment," State Administration of Work Safety spokeswoman An Yuanjie told the news agency. An said rescuers were working to pump water out of the Zhijian mine, in central China's Henan province, and that oxygen was being delivered to the trapped miners.
A statement released by the administration Tuesday said milk had also been delivered to the miners, but warned that gas levels were rising in the pit where they were trapped and that their strength was declining.