China hails 'miracle' as 115 rescued from flooded mine

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Majedur Rahman

XIANGNING, China, Apr 5 (AFP): More than 110 workers were pulled out alive from a Chinese coal mine Monday in what has been hailed as a miracle rescue over a week after the men were trapped by an underground flood.
So far, 115 survivors have been rescued from the mine in China's coal-mining heartland of Shanxi province, state media said. Some apparently survived on tree bark and at least one worker strapped himself to the wall with a belt.
The news from Shanxi, where 153 workers were trapped when the mine flooded on March 28, was a rare bright spot for an industry known for its poor safety record and more than 2,600 deaths recorded last year.
"How fantastic to be on ground again," Xinhua news agency quoted one 27-year-old survivor as saying.
The head of the State Administration of Work Safety, Luo Lin, hailed what he called "two miracles" more than a week after the accident, which authorities blamed on lax safety standards at the state-owned Wangjialing mine.
"The first is that these trapped people have made it through eight days and eight nights -- this is the miracle of life. Secondly our rescue plan has been effective -- this is a miracle in China's search and rescue history," Luo told China Central Television.
Liu Dezheng, vice-director of the Shanxi Work Safety Administration, said rescuers were still looking for the remaining 38 workers in the state-owned mine in China's coal-producing heartland.
State television showed survivors being brought out one after another, strapped to stretchers and wrapped in blankets. Towels covered their blackened faces to protect their eyes, light-sensitive after so long underground.
Groups of rescue workers wearing blue and orange jumpsuits loaded them into scores of awaiting ambulances, while medical personnel administered intravenous drips and oxygen.