Rescuers managed to dig more than 200 meters down into the shaft of a collapsed mine in east China on Monday, but found no new survivors.
A collapse at the gypsum mine in Pingyi County, Shandong Province,trapped 29 miners working underground on Dec. 25. Life detection equipment, dropped down via the No.6 hole, found no signs of missing people other than four they had previously contacted.
Eleven miners escaped or were rescued, one was confirmed dead and 17 others remain trapped or missing.
Rescuers made contact with the four trapped miners five days after the accident and were able to send them food, drinks, clothes, medicine and lamps. They are in stable condition.
Rescuers continue to dig holes to reach them, but progress is slow due to the complicated geological situation.
The shaft created to reach the four survivors can go no further due to a new collapse, said one rescuer. "But we will do everything possible to pull them out," he said.
The owner of the mine committed suicide by jumping into a flooded shaft while with the rescue team. The county's Communist Party chief, government head and two deputy heads were sacked after the accident. Police put several executives of the mine under investigation.
The cause of the accident has yet to be confirmed.
