Rescuers pulled seven injured miners to the surface today and were trying to reach 50 others trapped after a cave-in at a coal mine in central China, state media reported. Four miners were killed when the cave-in blasted rock into the mine shaft last night and 14 managed to escape, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The rock explosion happened just after a small earthquake shook near the mine in the city of Sanmenxia in Henan province.
Xinhua said six of the seven miners pulled out today had minor injuries but one was seriously hurt. At least 200 workers are digging a small rescue tunnel about 1,650 feet deep to try to reach the trapped miners, the People's Daily newspaper said. There have been no reports of communication with the trapped miners. Last Sunday, a gas explosion at a coal mine in central China's Hunan province killed 29 workers, the worst accident in recent months. (More China stories.)