9 workers are found dead in Chinese gold mine

Chinese rescuers on Monday found the bodies of nine gold miners trapped underground for two weeks, bringing the death toll of the catastrophic accident up to 10.

Eleven survivors were pulled to the surface on Sunday, officials said. One miner is still missing.

All 22 men were trapped belowground Jan. 10 after a series of powerful explosions created 70 tons of debris that blocked an exit and disabled elevators.

Search efforts will continue for the worker who hasn’t yet been discovered, said

Chen Fei, mayor of Yantai City, where the Hushan gold mine is located.

The blast was so huge that it seemed there were no survivors — until rescuers eventually heard faint knocking sounds while drilling down into the shaft. They were then able to set up a communication line and send food and medicine to the survivors.

The miners appeared to be stuck in three different locations, with some of them trapped nearly 2,000 feet below the surface.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. Several mine managers have been detained for delaying reporting the accident.

China’s mining industry is notoriously dangerous, with some of the highest death tolls in the world.