Rescue workers are still working against time to search for the 181 miners trapped at two collieries in east China's Shandong Province since Friday, despite dimming hopes of their survival four days after a swollen river flooded the pits.

An estimated 12.6 million cubic meters of water swept through a 50-meter wide breach in the Wenhe River levee and poured down the two pits before the breach was blocked early on Sunday.

 

The flood volume was "unprecedented" in any colliery flooding accidents in China in recent years, said Shang Dengying, an official with State Administration of Coal Mine Safety.

 

"It would take about 100 days to drain the flood water, even if 5,000 cubic meters is pumped out every hour," said Bu Changsen, a flood prevention expert with the rescue headquarters.

 

Not to mention the subsequent silt clearing, ventilation and pipe laying operations in the pit, he said. "The rescue operation is not progressing as quickly as we hope."

 

By 7:00 AM on Tuesday, the water level at Huayuan Mine where 172 miners have been trapped since Friday, had fallen by 23.6 meters to 69 meters. Yet the emergency rescue headquarters said they were still an estimated 100 meters from the 14 nearest miners, who were 208 meters below the surface.

 

Experts predict many other miners are 388 meters or more below ground where their chances of survival are slim.

 

Four pumps are extracting 660 cubic meters of water per hour from the Huayuan Mine, about 150 km south of the provincial capital Jinan. About 10 km away, another pump is taking water from Minggong Mine, where nine miners are trapped in 145,000 cubic meters of flood water.

 

Two more powerful pumps, each designed to draw 1,000 cubic meters per hour, were shipped to the site on Saturday, but mechanics are having difficulties installing the machines in the bumpy, low-lying mining area.

 

"We need to install a new derrick first, and the two new pumps are not likely to be operational anytime before Wednesday afternoon," said Ba Yanping, a senior executive of China Coal Group.

 

Four drilling sets were called in from the Shengli Oilfield on Monday to drill wells and to divert water from the flooded shafts, but had dug only 16 meters deep so far.

 

The rescue headquarters are waiting for more powerful drilling machines to speed up the operation.

 

The flooding occurred at around 2:30 PM Friday first at Huayuan Mining Co. Ltd in the city of Xintai, and later Minggong Mine.

 

In the Huayuan pit, 756 miners were working when the accident happened, and 584 managed to escape. Management of the mine, headed by general manager Xu Qinyu, of the Huayuan Mining Co. Ltd, were at the site to guide the disoriented miners in the evacuation.

 

"That was the fortune out of a thousand misfortunes," said Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work Safety.

 

Of the 95 people working in the Minggong pit, 86 escaped.

 

Families of the victims, most of whom live in the Huayuan miners community nearby, are awaiting news of the rescue progress.

 

The tragedy has been an immense blow for the community of 5,500 families: one out of every 50 families has someone trapped down the pit, and some of the victims are related.

 

"Please, the government must do something to save them," said Wang Kuitao, who escaped from almost 1,000 meters below ground in the Huayuan pit. He never went home because his younger brother, an electrician, remains trapped.

 

Locals in the Xincun Village are doing what they can to help with the rescue work. When sandbags and bricks failed to block the levee breach, the villagers drove 50 heavy trucks, excavators and bulldozers -- some of which were privately owned -- into the swollen river to help reinforce the levee.

 

By the time the breach was blocked early on Sunday, Niu Baowei, a village official, had not slept for 30 hours. "All the victims are young men and pillars of their families. We must lend a helping hand," he said.

 

Management of Huayuan mine has sent 545 employees to counsel the families. Sixty family members had been hospitalized with high blood pressure or heart problems, said Huangpu Tinghua, deputy general manager of Huayuan Mining Co. Ltd.

 

Huayuan is a joint-stock company that produces 750,000 tons a year and employs 6,000 people.

 

The adjacent Minggong mine produces 150,000 tons annually.

(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2007)