More than 100 Chinese miners were pulled out alive Monday after being trapped for more than a week in a flooded coal mine, sparking cheers among the hundreds of rescue workers who had raced to save them and almost given up hope. A live state television broadcast counted off the number of survivors brought above ground _ 114 as of 2:15 p.m. local time (0615 GMT; 2:15 a.m. EDT) _ as miners wrapped in blankets were hurried to waiting ambulances that sped wailing to nearby hospitals. Rescuers in tears hugged each other at the scene, which was broadcast on national television. The sudden surge in rescues was a rare piece of good news for China's mining industry, according to a report of the Associated Press. «A miracle has finally happened,» a rescue headquarters spokesman, Liu Dezheng, told reporters Monday morning, after the first nine miners were taken out shortly after midnight. «We believe that more miracles will happen.» The stream of survivors started about two hours later. «This is probably one of the most amazing rescues in the history of mining anywhere,» said David Feickert, a coal mine safety adviser to the Chinese government. The miners were in their eighth day underground when rescuers were finally able to reach them.
