(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-21 20:16

"Reality" means there is slim chance of the miners emerging alive.

Nie's 11-year-old son refused to say anything. Most of the time he stared blankly at the scarlet plaque above the door. Its four large Chinese characters read "Xing Fu Zhi Jia", meaning "a happy family".

Most of the families live in the Huayuan community close to the mine.

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 the workers and the mine," said Wang Kuitao, who escaped from almost 1,000 meters below ground in the Huayuan pit, trekking through chest-deep water. He never went home because his younger brother, an electrician, remains trapped.

Managers at the Huayuan mine have sent 545 employees to counsel the families, which is a tough job because at least 60 family members have been hospitalized with high blood pressure or heart problems.

Hope for the miners is dimming, as experts with the rescue headquarters said it would take about 100 days to drain the flood water, even if 5,000 cubic meters is pumped out every hour.

Rescuers have brought down the water level in the shaft by more than 20 meters by Tuesday, but there are still more than 100 meters from even the nearest 14 miners, who are 208 meters below the surface.

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