A flooding accident occurred at a coal mine in East China's Shandong Province on Saturday, resulting in eight miners being trapped. As of Sunday morning, the rescue operation was underway.
The Ningyang County Emergency Management Bureau of Tai'an city in Shandong issued a notification regarding the flooding accident at Huafeng Coal Mine of Shandong Energy on Saturday, stating that after the accident, the provincial, municipal, and county levels activated emergency response mechanisms and established a joint rescue command center to fully organize and carry out the rescue operation.
The miners are being trapped at a depth of less than 600 meters as of Sunday afternoon, and the biggest challenge related to the rescue operation is the slow drainage of silt. An emergency passage is expected to be opened by tomorrow morning at the earliest, China Central Television reported.
Currently, a rescue team of more than 200 people is working to reach the trapped miners underground as quickly as possible. The command center has designated three hospitals for treatment, with medical personnel and ambulances on standby at the site. Additionally, 15 experts have been arranged to provide on-site guidance for the rescue efforts, according to the media report.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
