Four Chinese Miners Trapped In Pit For 36 Days Are Finally Rescued - Photos

Four miners have been rescued after 36 days trapped underground in a collapsed mine in China. The gypsum mine in east China’s Shandong province collapsed on Christmas Day, killing one and leaving 17 missing. In the days that followed, rescuers detected four men 200 metres (660ft) below the surface. 

The collapse on 25 December was so violent it registered as a seismic event. Five days later, infrared cameras detected the four miners, weak with hunger, waving their hands. The miners told rescuers they were in underground passages that were intact, and rescuers began slowly drilling a route to save them. They sent food and clothes to the men through four small tunnels they drilled. 

Eleven other people in the mine at the time of the collapse made it to safety or were rescued earlier.