Miners trapped for over a week following a mine blast in east China's Shandong Province sent a note to rescuers Sunday shedding light on the situation below.
The note said 12 workers are still alive, including four injured, while the state of the other 10 is unknown.
"We are heavily exhausted and in urgent need of stomach medicine, painkillers, medical tape, external anti-inflammatory drugs, and three people have high blood pressure," the note read.
It also warned there is a high concentration of smoke and a large amount of underground water where the miners are trapped.
"We hope the rescue continues and we will remain hopeful, thank you," the note said.
The blast took place at 2 p.m. on Jan. 10 at a gold mine in Qixia under Yantai City. It happened about 240 meters deep from the entrance. Twenty-two workers were working at a depth of more than 600 meters.
The rescuers drilled a channel on Sunday afternoon, knocked on the drilling pipe, and got knocking sounds back in response. Later that day, rescuers said they felt people pulling the iron ropes used to deliver the nutrient solutions.
