Chinese state media said 12 out of 22 workers trapped for a week by an explosion in a gold mine are alive, as hundreds of rescuers seek to bring them to safety.
State broadcaster CCTV today showed footage of a note being passed through a rescue shaft today which said the fate of the other 10 remains unknown.
The handwritten note said four of the 12 miners were injured and that the condition of others were deteriorating because of a lack of fresh air and an influx of water.
The note was attached onto an iron cable and passed through a channel that had been drilled to send supplies and communicate to the miners.
CCTV said earlier rescuers confirmed sign of life after receiving knocks on the iron cable.
The mine in Qixia, a jurisdiction under the city of Yantai in east China’s Shandong Province, had been under construction at the time of the blast on January 10.
Managers of the mine were detained for having waited more than a day to alert the explosion in violation of rules saying accidents must be reported within one hour.
