A dozen Chinese prospectors who sat thousands of feet underground for more than a week have sent an urgent message saying four are injured and the others are reportedly in bad shape.
“We urgently need drugs, pain killers, medical tape, external anti-inflammatory drugs, and three people have high blood pressure,” said Agence France-Presse.
According to the Xinhua Nerws Agency, it was not known if there were 10 other miners alive.
Twenty-two workers were trapped about 600 meters below the surface after an explosion eight days ago near the city of Qixia in eastern Shandong province.
After days without any sign of life, rescuers heard a knock on Sunday afternoon as they bore through the mine shaft.
“We wish the rescuers wouldn’t stop so we can still have hope. Thank you, ”read the crumpled, water-stained note written in pencil.
The writer asked emergency responders to send medication from his car and warned that there was a large amount of water where the miners are trapped.
Rescue workers were later able to speak to some of the miners after they cut a phone line, officials said at a news conference Monday.
The hope of a miraculous rescue sparked an outpouring of sympathy and encouragement on social media.
The hashtag “Qixia gold mine incident” was viewed 130 million times on the popular social media site Weibo.
“I saw the note while watching the morning news and burst into tears,” wrote one Weibo user. “I hope they will rescue the trapped workers as soon as possible.”
Surgery managers were arrested after not reporting the accident for more than a day.
The mine was under construction at the time of the blast, which took place on January 10.
With pole wires