JINAN, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers and workers trapped underground in a gold mine in east China's Shandong Province had a phone conversation on Monday, local authorities said.
It revealed that 11 people were stuck in one section of the mine and one person in another.
The call was made after rescuers installed a wired telephone underground through a previously drilled channel, said Chen Fei, mayor of Yantai. He gave the update at a press conference on Monday afternoon.
Twenty-two gold miners have been trapped underground following a mine blast at 2 p.m. on Jan. 10 in Qixia under Yantai City.
It happened about 240 meters under the entrance while workers were at a depth of more than 600 meters.
The whereabouts of the other ten workers are still unknown.
Two batches of supplies and one of medicine have been delivered to the 11 workers through the channel. It could support their survival for two days, said the mayor.
Field investigations and site selection for two new drillings have been launched, according to Chen.
Miners sent a note to rescuers on Sunday saying they were "heavily exhausted and in urgent need of stomach medicine, painkillers, medical tape, external anti-inflammatory drugs, and three people have high blood pressure."
It also warned of a high concentration of smoke and a large amount of underground water where the miners are trapped. Enditem
