NHC medical team arrives to guide rescue
▶ One trapped miner in coma due to head injury from blast: official update
On the ninth day of the goldmine rescue in East China’s Shandong Province, one of the trapped miners reportedly is suffering from critical injury in the head, with 10 of the total 22 still remain lost in touch. A medical team with doctors and psychologists has arrived on site. No signs of mental trauma have been shown.
One of 11 trapped miners is critically injured from a previous blast and is in a coma, trapped miners said via phone at 6 pm on Tuesday. Eight of them are in good condition, and two have mild discomfort, according to an official update on Tuesday night.
Sent by the National Health Commission, the team of medical experts arrived on the rescue site on Tuesday. The group consists of five experts in critical care medicine, nutrition, neurosurgery, occupational disease and poisoning medicine, and psychological intervention from top hospitals in Beijing.
The experts have re- optimized the medical aid plans, understood in detail the physical condition of each miner and established individual health files to clarify the food and medicine to offer the miners individually to improve their physical condition.
Nearly 10 days after the fatal accident took place, the rescuers on site are going all- out for the difficult rescue. Ten channels had been drilled into the goldmine as of Tuesday, including two for life maintenance and surveillance, two for rescue, two for water drainage, and one for auxiliary detection.
Judging from the notes sent back by the trapped miners, they are now able to communicate with the outside world and should not have suffered psychological trauma, said Jiang Changqing, chief psychologist at Beijing Anding Hospital.
The trapped miners are 200 meters below the obstacle in the shaft, the Global Times reporter learned. Construction workers are working round the clock to go down the shaft to cut the obstacle.
The Global Times reporter also learned that some 388 machines and pieces of equipment have been deployed for the rescue work, including some of the country’s most advanced rescue equipment. There are 16 professional rescue teams and one fire rescue team on location.
The blast happened on January 10, trapping 22 miners underground for more than 200 hours now. A total of 12 miners have been confirmed to be alive, while the other 10 have lost contact.
As of 9: 02 am Tuesday, supply goods including 55 bottles of nutrient solutions, 13 bottles of millet soup, carpets and slips to write on have been sent to the trapped miners.