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National

China rescues 11 workers trapped in Shandong gold mine, state media reports

Authorities rescue the first of the miners 14 days after they were trapped underground.

Chinese rescuers have pulled 11 gold miners to safety, 14 days after they were trapped by an underground explosion, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Footage showed the first miner to be rescued, a black blindfold across his eyes, being lifted out of a mine shaft in the morning.

The miner was "extremely weak", according to a post on state broadcaster CCTV's Weibo account.

Rescue workers wrapped the barely responsive man in a blanket before taking him to hospital by ambulance.

Over the next few hours, 10 miners from a different section of the mine, who had been receiving food and supplies from rescue workers last week, were brought out in batches.

Rescuers have drilled additional shafts for communication, ventilation and the evacuation of the survivors.(AP: Wang Kai/Xinhua)

One was injured but several of the others were shown walking, supported by rescue workers and wearing black cloth over their eyes, before leaving the site in ambulances.

Twenty-two workers were trapped about 600 metres underground in the Hushan mine by the January 10 blast in Qixia, a major gold-producing region under the administration of Yantai in coastal Shandong province.

One miner has died.

Officials said on Thursday it could take another two weeks to clear "severe blockages" before they could drill shafts to reach the group of 10 who had been receiving supplies of food from the rescue team.

State media said earlier however that the more than 600 rescuers on site were hoping to reach the men in the mine's fifth section on Sunday.

The men were said to be in good physical condition and they had been receiving normal food since Saturday, after several days of living off nutrient solutions, according to Xinhua.

The cause of the explosion that caused the miners to be trapped has not been revealed.(AP: Wang Kai/Xinhua)

Authorities have detained mine managers for delaying reporting the accident for more than 24 hours.

The cause of the explosion has not been announced.

Increased supervision has improved safety in China's mining industry, which used to average 5,000 deaths a year.

However, demand for coal and precious metals continues to prompt corner-cutting, and two accidents in Chongqing last year killed 39 miners.

ABC/wires

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