The first miner is brought to hospital for treatment after being pulled out alive from the collapsed coal mine in Heshan, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, July 10, 2011 [Photo/Xinhua]

HESHAN, Guangxi - Two workers were rescued 188 hours after they were trapped in a coal mine collapse in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, rescuers said Sunday.

The two were among 18 miners trapped after the mine, operated by Guangxi Heshan Coal Mining Company, collapsed midday on July 2 after days of heavy rain.

A total of 71 miners were working underground when the accident occurred on July 2 — 49 managed to escape. Rescuers have retrieved eight bodies so far.

Ye Fangyong, deputy commander of the rescue headquarters, said that the section where the survivors were found was a ventilation lane 320 meters underground. It was filled with sludge after the collapse, but there was still room for fresh air.

Ye said three more miners trapped at a work platform 390 meters underground may survive because the section also has some space for fresh air.

Rescuers had believed that four other miners would be found with the rescued two, but now say the chances of the remaining 13 being found alive are not good due to the conditions in the mine.

But the rescuers have not given up, Ye said, and are using scientific measures such as a water-proof radar device to help indicate the exact locations of trapped workers.

Moreover, rescuers have been offered 2 million yuan ($309,143) for each miner they pull out alive.

Yang Yaodong, director of the Guangxi Heshan Coal Mining Company, pledged that the company would do its utmost to rescue the remaining trapped workers.

The two survivors have been identified as 41-year-old Liu Jiagan and 35-year-old Qin Hongdang. They are in stable condition.

Before they were rushed to Heshan People's Hospital for treatment, they told rescuers in weak voices that they survived under the mine by drinking spring water that seeped through the top of the shaft.

The rescuers said that they heard faint sounds of the trapped miners at 3 am Sunday but could not figure out how the sounds were made.

The two miners' miraculous survival on Sunday reminded people of last year's Wangjialing Coal Mine rescue in north Shanxi Province, where a total of 115 workers were pulled out of the flooded coal mine about 179 hours after the accident occurred.