Rain halts efforts to rescue 122 coal miners
By Qiu Quanlin (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-15 05:26

GUANGZHOU: Heavy rain has led to increased difficulties for rescuers trying to find 122 miners still trapped in the flooded Daxing Coal Mine in Xingning, Guangdong Province.

Medical staff take blood samples of relatives of the trapped miners in Guangdong Sunday. Through DNA confirmation, the bodies of dead miners are easier to be clarified. [newsphoto]

The rain swept across the accident area over the weekend, causing rescuers and experts to suspend their attempts to find the exact spot where water has been rushing into the mine.

There is now almost no hope of finding the trapped miners alive.

Measures against the tropical storm Sanvu, which hit eastern Guangdong Province on Saturday, were also taken in the mine area.

"We still don't know where the water is coming from, and if the rain continues we might have to prevent further disasters," Li Chong, an official from the local government, told China Daily yesterday.

As a result, the rescue operation that has been going on for more than eight days has made little progress, Li said.

The water level in the tunnel slightly dropped after another large water pump began working on Saturday.

However, it increased slightly yesterday after heavy rain swept across the accident area, according to Li.

"Rescuers have no new information about the 122 missing miners," Li said. The flooding trapped a total of 123 miners. Only one body has so far been recovered.

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