China Central Television showed live footage from the Wangjialing mine, in the northern province of Shanxi, of several of the rescued men -- the first known survivors -- being rushed to hospital in ambulances.

They were strapped to stretchers, wrapped in green blankets and had towels covering their eyes and blackened faces to protect them from lights after more than 179 hours trapped in the flooded mine.

Groups of rescue workers wearing orange jumpsuits loaded the survivors into awaiting ambulances, while medical personnel dressed in white administered intravenous drips and oxygen.

An official from the work safety watchdog was quoted as saying from the scene that there were still hopes more workers could be rescued alive during the ongoing operation.

State television said sounds from within the mine further indicated the possibility of more survivors as numerous ambulances awaited at the mouth of the facility.

Despite being past midnight, thousands of people lined along the road applauded as ambulances carrying the survivors rushed past, the state Xinhua news agency said.

The vital signs of four survivors appeared to be stable, while the others were being given emergency treatment, the report said, quoting hospital officials in the city of Hejin, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the mine.

One survivor identified himself as Li Guoyu, 38, from neighbouring Henan province, the television report said, adding all nine men were conscious and alert, and two were communicating with each other.

At least 3,000 rescuers have been racing against time to pump water out of the mine after it flooded on March 28, the latest in a series of accidents to hit the notoriously dangerous industry in China.

Rescuers entered the mine over the weekend but had said conditions were "complex" and they found more water in the shaft than anticipated.

Previously, the only vague sign of life in the huge site came on Friday, when rescuers heard a tapping sound on a drill pipe.

A team of 100 rescue workers descended into the mine again at about 10:30 pm Sunday (1430 GMT) and discovered the nine two hours later, the China News Service said.

Within 40 minutes of finding them, they had been brought out of the mine pit, it said.

As the first team of rescuers exited the mine with the survivors, a second team was dispatched into the pit to search for the remaining 144 missing, the report said.

The accident occurred when workers apparently dug into an older adjacent mine that had been shut down and filled with water, press reports have said.

The work safety watchdog blamed the accident on lax safety standards by the mine owner, the Huajin Coking Coal Company, which failed to heed repeated warnings that water was accumulating in the pit days before the disaster.

Workers at the mine, which was under construction, had also been ordered to step up the pace of work in order to ensure that coal production began by October this year, the safety watchdog said.

It has been a disastrous past week for China's mining sector. Altogether, nearly 30 people have died and almost 200 are missing after five separate coal mining accidents.

Workers' safety is often ignored in China's collieries in the quest for quick profits and the drive to meet surging demand for coal -- the source of about 70 percent of the country's energy.

According to official statistics, 2,631 coal miners were killed last year in China -- or about seven a day -- down by 584 from 2008.

In August 2007, 172 workers died in a mine flood in the eastern province of Shandong.

earlier related report
No signs of life as rescuers enter China's flooded mine
Beijing (AFP) April 3, 2010 - A group of rescuers Saturday entered a flooded mine shaft in China where 153 workers have been trapped for six days but had so far failed to detect any signs of life, state media reported.

The 13 rescuers, including six divers carrying cameras, entered the Wangjialing coal mine in the early afternoon to explore conditions underground before more rescuers would be sent in, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Some of the rescuers returned within hours, describing the situation underground as "complicated".

Rescuers lowered a telephone through a drill pipe hoping to hear voices or other signs of life but there has been nothing since rescuers heard a tapping sound from the pipe on Friday.

At least 3,000 rescuers have been racing against time to pump water out of the vast coal mine in the northern province of Shanxi and reach the missing workers.

"The brothers trapped in the shaft have no food to eat and no quilts to cover themselves. Yes, we are very tired, but that is nothing," rescuer Wang Honglin told Xinhua.

"Our biggest hope is to stand at the shaft entrance and greet our brothers walking out of the pit one by one," he said.

The water level inside the mine has fallen by more than five metres (13 feet) since Sunday, with rescuers draining 2,000 cubic metres of water per hour.

A large scale rescue operation could be launched Sunday at the earliest, Xinhua said, citing a spokesman for the rescuers.

About 280 rescuers would be involved in the mission, with 158 ambulances on standby, the report said.

Authorities had maintained a faint hope that some workers may have survived if they were working on platforms above danger levels, and Friday's news from the mine indicated this might have been the case.

Rescuers had inserted a pipe into the shaft as part of the rescue effort. When they took it out, an iron wire had been attached to it, apparently by one of the trapped, Xinhua quoted a rescue official as saying.

They have sent a bucket down the narrow hole with food provisions, pens, paper and communication equipment, Xinhua said.

The rescue effort comes at the end of what has been a disastrous week for China's notoriously dangerous mining sector.

Altogether, nearly 30 people have died and almost 200 are missing after five separate coal mining accidents in as many days.

Workers' safety is often ignored in China's collieries in the quest for quick profits and the drive to meet surging demand for coal -- the source of about 70 percent of the country's energy.

If the workers in Shanxi are not saved, that accident will be the deadliest in China's coal mines in more than two years.

According to official statistics, 2,631 coal miners were killed last year in China -- or about seven a day -- down by 584 from 2008.

China has made efforts to improve safety standards in mines, levying heavy fines and implementing region-wide mining shut-downs following serious accidents.

But the action has resulted in the under-reporting of accidents, labour rights groups maintain. And deadly accidents still occur in big, state-owned collieries, such as the one in Shanxi where the 153 workers are trapped.

earlier related report
Rescuers hear signs of life in China's flooded mine
Beijing (AFP) April 2, 2010 - Rescuers at a colliery in China heard signs of life Friday from a flooded shaft where 153 workers have been trapped for five days, bringing a glimmer of hope in a dire week for the nation's mining sector.

At least 3,000 rescuers have been racing against time to pump water out of the vast Wangjialing coal mine and reach the missing in the northern province of Shanxi as hopes had faded for their survival after the flood on Sunday.

According to the official Xinhua news agency, rescuers heard a repeated tapping sound coming up a pipe and then heard some shouting.

Authorities had maintained faint hope that some workers may have survived if they were working on platforms above danger levels, and the latest news from the mine indicated this might have been the case.

Rescuers had inserted a pipe into the shaft as part of the rescue effort. When they took it out, an iron wire had been attached to it, apparently by one of the trapped, Xinhua quoted rescue official Pan Zengwu as saying.

They were preparing to send a bucket down the narrow hole with food provisions and communication equipment, state television said.

The new update brings a rare piece of good news for the families of the missing, in what has been a disastrous week for China's notoriously dangerous mining sector.

Altogether, nearly 30 people have died and almost 200 are missing after five separate coal mining accidents in China in as many days.

Workers' safety is often ignored in China's collieries in the quest for quick profits and the drive to meet surging demand for coal -- the source of about 70 percent of the country's energy.

In the latest incident, a fire in a coal mine in the northern province of Shaanxi killed nine people Thursday.

In the central province of Henan, a huge explosion at a coal mine that authorities said had been operating illegally killed at least 20 people on Wednesday.

Another 24 people were believed to be trapped underground in the mine. The boss had fled, prompting a huge manhunt by local police, state media said.

The blast was so powerful that several buildings near the mine shaft were flattened, with bits of clothes hanging from the trees, the official China Daily reported.

In the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, a flood had trapped five people at a colliery. And on the other side of the country, in the far-western region of Xinjiang, 10 were missing after a mine collapse.

If the workers in Shanxi are not saved, that accident will be the deadliest in China's coal mines in more than two years.

According to official statistics, 2,631 coal miners were killed last year in China -- or about seven a day -- down by 584 from 2008.

China has made efforts to improve safety standards in mines, levying heavy fines and implementing region-wide mining shut-downs following serious accidents.

But the action has resulted in the under-reporting of accidents, labour rights groups maintain. And deadly accidents still occur in big, state-owned collieries, such as the one in Shanxi where the 153 workers are trapped.

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