Two of three workers have been rescued from a mine following a rain-triggered roof collapse on Saturday in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
The two were rescued Monday morning from an illegal mine in Limu township of Gongcheng county, and reported to be in stable condition in hospital, said a spokesman with the county's fire prevention bureau, which also serves as the emergency rescue headquarters.
The other one is still trapped in a narrow place underground, and rescuers are still trying to reach him, the spokesman said.
The accident happened at 11 a.m. at the mine. The workers were trapped about 25 meters down the shaft.
The workers said their location was ventilated and close to a water source, but they were running out of food. Rescuers tried to send packs of milk down a newly excavated rescue channel Monday morning, but were not successful.
The mine was excavated by villagers without the local government's authorization and "It is unclear what minerals it contains," the spokesman said.
The mountainous Gongcheng county, with a population of 282,000, is rich in tantalum, columbium, tungsten, stannum, lead and zinc.