BEIJING, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - At least 31 of 69 miners trapped for three days in a flooded coal mine in central China have been rescued, the Xinhua news agency said Wednesday.
The flash flooding hit the Zhijian coal mine, in China's Henan Province, early Sunday while 102 miners were working underground. Thirty-three managed to escape, but 69 others were trapped by rising water.
By midday Wednesday, nearly half the miners had been brought to the surface and rushed to the hospital.
Xinhua reported that a crowd gathered at the sight burst into applause as the first miner to be rescued emerged unharmed.
