Eight of the nine workers who had been trapped underground after a coal mine collapse in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on July 31 re-appeared at the entrance of the tunnel on Tuesday and were hospitalized in stable condition.

It wasn't immediately known how they had survived and escaped.

Shang Huimin, an official with the publicity department of the Shenmu County Committee of the Communist Party of China, said the first miner walked out of the tunnel by himself just before 7 p.m. and walked another 50 meters into the mine's administrative office compound.

Another seven miners were helped out by rescuers some 10 minutes later, and they quickly grabbed food.

The location of the last miner was established and rescuers were trying hard to reach him, said Shang.

None of the miners' identities were available.

When the cave-in occurred at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Zhaojialiang Coal Mine here, 38 workers were underground, of whom 29 initially escaped.

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)