Rescuers on Wednesday recovered the body of one miner from a flooded southern China coal shaft as hopes of finding 122 still trapped underground faded, state media reported. Authorities also suspended two mayors who had jurisdiction over
mines in the area, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Only four miners managed to escape after the tunnel 480m underground became flooded on Sunday at the privately owned Daxing Colliery in Wanghuai Town of Meizhou City in Guangdong province.
The body of one miner was raised to the surface early on Wednesday, and rescuers continued to search for 122 others, Xinhua reported.
Late on Tuesday, officials revised the number of miners they believed were trapped underground from 102 to 123, Xinhua reported.
The chances of finding any survivors was growing smaller everyday, Xinhua cited You Ningfeng, a vice governor of Guangdong tasked with heading the rescue operation, as saying.
”Currently, they are still trapped about 480m underground. The chance of survival for the trapped miners is slim after being stranded for more than 55 hours,” he was quoted as saying.
Two mayors, He Zhengba from Meizhou and Zeng Xianghai from nearby Xingning, have been suspended over the accident for failing to supervise coal mine production in the area, it said.
Four pumps were working around the clock to extract the floodwaters and another five were expected to boost efforts on Wednesday, but rescuers were still unsure where the water was coming from, Xinhua said.
The Daxing mine was operating without a license and despite a government ban on mining in the area following a flooding incident at another facility on July 14, Xinhua said.
About 65 managers who fled immediately after the accident had returned by late Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
China suffers more than 5 000 deaths a year in floods, fires and other disasters in coal mines despite repeated government promises to tighten enforcement of safety standards. – Sapa-AP