(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-28 15:53

XINTAI - Rescue workers continue their operations to reach 181 miners trapped inside two coal mine shafts since 11 days ago, while efforts are made to comfort relatives of the victims.

Flood water swept through a 65-meter wide breach in the Wenhe River levee on August 17, inundating the Huayuan and Minggong mines, leaving 181 people trapped underground.

Chinese water resources specialists have blamed the disaster largely on heavy rain and inadequate flood prevention facilities.

Nine pumps are busy working near the mines, piping out 4,700 cubic meters of water per hour.

Related readings:  50m yuan donated to victims in mine flood  Cause of mine floods yet to be decided  China investigating mine flood, rescue work comes first  172 missing after surface water floods coal mine in east China

By 6 pm Monday, water level in the shaft of Huayuan coal mine dropped to 59.92 meters, 32.68 meters down from the highest level. But rescuers have to lower the water level by another 89.92 meters to reach the 172 trapped miners.

In the nearby Minggong coal mine, water level lowered to 60.14 meters, according to Yang Xingkui, a senior official with Shandong Provincial Coal Industry Bureau.

"It is hard to predict how many days it will take to reach the trapped miners," said the official who is put in charge of the on-site water pumping efforts.

Apart from the rescue work, consolation work has been underway for the families and relatives of the trapped workers. A total of 122 medical and social workers have been organized to receive training courses on skills to address psychological crises such as loss of the beloved ones.

Hu Lei, an associate medical doctor with Shandong Provincial Psychological Counseling Center, said the trainees were arranged to work in groups and each group has five members who are supposed to service one household by way of listening to the sorrows of the household members and comforting them.

"As time goes by, the hope of those trapped miners to return alive becomes dim," said Hu, "We hope that our efforts could reduce psychological harm done on relatives of the trapped miners and prevent mental breakdowns."