CHINA> Survival Miracles
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CHINA> Survival Miracles
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Holding on for dear life
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-21 09:00 165 hours: Out after a week As soon as rescuers pulled Wang Chunbang out of the manganese mine in Qingchuan county at 11 am on Monday, the pit's opening collapsed. Wang, 56, had been trapped in the mine for 165 hours - almost one week - after the quake hit the region.
On May 12, Wang and seven other colleagues were working in the mine. Wang hid under a tramcar and managed to escape getting crushed by the collapsed ceiling. His fellow miners did not make it. The debris blocked Wang's way out of the mine. He decided not to risk trying to get out and waited for help instead. Wang tried every means possible to stay alive. On the fifth day, he drank his own urine to stave off dehydration. A rescue team made up of soldiers from the city of Jinan in Shandong province managed to reach Wang at 9 am on Monday. A child had told the rescuers he heard weak breathing from inside the mine. An aftershock hit the area as rescuers removed rubble from the mine opening to reach Wang, but two hours later, they found the miner together with the bodies of his colleagues. Wang was found to be extremely weak but alert. He was transferred to a nearby town by 10 rescuers and is recovering in a hospital. |
