Coal mine flood survivors offered jobs

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-27 19:30

Three workers who miraculously survived after being trapped in a flooded mine for 25 days were discharged on Monday from the Affiliated Hospital of Guiyang Medical College, in Guizhou province, according to Xinhua.

The three were trapped in the Xinqiao coal mine in Guizhou after it suddenly flooded on June 17, cutting off their access to the surface. They were rescued nearly a month later, on July 12, having survived by eating coal dust and drinking from pools of underground water. Rescuers were reportedly able to find them after hearing their calls for help through the rock and mud.

“The three workers are recovering quite well, and now they have reached the standard to be discharged from hospital,” Wang Xiaolin, the director of the hospital said.

Still, doctors said that as a result of their ordeal, the men’s kidneys were damaged, in part because they drank so much to compensate for the lack of food.

“But it still [will take] about three months for them to get a full recovery,” Zhou Li, another hospital official noted.

As the three men work to put their lives back together, they will also have some help.

In recognition of their endurance and courage, the Henan Coal Chemical Industry Group(HNCC), which assisted in their rescue, has offered all three men jobs with one of its subsidiaries in Guizhou. All three have accepted, and will work out the details of their jobs after a period of recuperation with their families in Henan.

The hospital has also agreed to pay the cost of their treatments and gave them each a 2,000 yuan(US$293) gift when they were discharged.