Hope fading for trapped Chinese miners

[United Press International]

BEIJING, May 10 (UPI) -- Rescuers say there is almost no
chance that 15 coal miners trapped in flooded shafts over a week ago
in northern China still survive.
A spokesperson for rescue operations told Xinhua that
unstable geologic conditions had made it more difficult to reach
workers in the Xinyuan coal mine located outside the city of Wuhai
in China's Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region.
Flooding in the mineshafts on April 30 trapped 32 workers;
17 were rescued. The accident occurred two days after mining
operations had been ordered shut for poor ventilation by the local
safety supervision administration.
Despite pumping out more than 50,000 cubic meters of water,
levels had dropped only 138 cm (4.5 feet) by Sunday afternoon,
leaving rescuers little hope of finding the trapped men alive.
Thousands die each year in Chinese coal mine disasters as
hundreds of small independently owned operations ignore safety
regulations.