Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010
China's Mining Miracle
On the eighth day they were delivered. On March 28, miners digging a new tunnel accidentally cracked an old one filled with water. The ensuing flood trapped 153 workers underground. After hopes faded fast as rescue crews worked around the clock, they were buoyed by tapping sounds coming from the depths of the shaft on April 2. Rescue workers immediately sent milk, glucose and words of support down the tunnel; three days later they dropped in rafts and pulled out 115 survivors, most in stable condition. The joy flowed freely in China, which has the dubious honor of possessing the world's most lethal coal-mining industry.