They Got OUT!

Wow, Quecreek times (more than) seven.

Sixty-nine coal miners who were trapped in a flooded shaft in China for more than three days were rescued today.

The miners, who were uninjured, were trapped underground after the state-owned Zhijian mine, in Shan County, Henan province, filled with river water early on Sunday. Thirty-three others managed to escape.

The men were pulled out alive at midday to applause from onlookers, the Xinhua news agency reported. Most were unable to walk unassisted, but some were carried away on stretchers.......

Rescuers piped air into the shaft in an attempt to keep the miners alive and buy time in which to save them.

They poured 549 litres of milk down an 800-metre ventilation pipe, and the men drank it from their helmets. Xinhua said the milk was their only source of nourishment in 76 hours.

Hundreds of rescue workers struggled to prevent more river water from entering the mine as they pumped floodwater from the shafts and cleared silt.

Earlier, Xinhua said the area where the miners were trapped was dry, and had both electricity and a telephone line....