Natesh Ajalat blog

BEIJING – Thirteen out of 29 miners trapped for nearly a day in a flooded Chinese coal mine have been lifted to safety and the rest have been confirmed alive, state media said Monday.

The miners were trapped Sunday morning after the small Batian mine in southwest China's Sichuan province suddenly flooded. Rescuers initially thought only 28 were trapped but made contact with the workers Monday and revised the figure upward.

State broadcaster China Central Television showed a line of ambulances and large crowds waiting near the entrance to the mine, and medics wrapping a survivor in blankets before carrying him to an ambulance on a stretcher.

The miners still underground were alive and in stable condition, CCTV said.

China's mines are the deadliest in the world, with more than 2,600 people killed in coal mine accidents in 2009 alone.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Batian had stopped production and was being upgraded to increase its annual capacity from 50,000 tons to 60,000 tons. The workers had been underground for safety work, it said.

Though most of China's mining accidents occur in small, illegal mines, Xinhua quoted Lin Shucheng, chief of the provincial work safety bureau, as saying Batian's operation was legal and fully licensed.

China depends on coal for 70 percent of its energy production and its mines are the deadliest in the world, with more than 2,600 people killed in coal mine accidents in 2009 alone.