Tag Archives: head injury

Trapped China gold miners get porridge, blankets, one miner in coma – state media

BEIJING (Reuters) – Workers trapped in a Chinese gold mine for more than nine days received more medical and food supplies on Tuesday, including bandages, blankets and porridge, but one of the group is in critical condition with a severe head injury, state media said.

A total of 22 workers were left trapped in the Hushan mine, in Shandong province, after an explosion on Jan. 10. A week later, it emerged that at least 12 of them were still alive as a note retrieved from the mine said: “We hope the rescue won’t stop.”

A drilled channel on Sunday located 11 of the miners, who were working more than 600 meters underground, and rescuers were subsequently able to speak to them via wired telephone.

The official Xinhua news agency said the miners had requested on Monday evening sausage and pickles as well as porridge but medical experts decided they should not eat hard food having only just regained their strength.

Fortified by the food and medical supplies – the fourth consignment to reach the group – two workers who had previously been very weak were able to walk again on Tuesday, Xinhua reported, citing a member of the rescue team.

However, the People’s Daily said one worker was in a coma, in critical condition, after sustaining a head injury in the blast, while two were “mildly unwell” and eight in good health.

One more worker has been located in another section of the mine, while the whereabouts of the other 10 remain unknown.

News that some of the miners are still alive has boosted Chinese netizens’ hopes for a miraculous escape, with thousands leaving prayer messages on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform and calling on the authorities to “please speed up the rescue”.

China’s National Mine Safety Administration has ordered a comprehensive inspection of the country’s non-coal mines, which will run until the end of March, the People’s Daily reported.

There are 32,000 non-coal mines in China, most of which are small, use outdated technology and equipment, and have poor safety management it said, citing an administration official.

(Reporting by Beijing bureau; Editing by Gareth Jones)

U.S. embassy worker in Ukraine dies after suspected park assault

By Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets

KYIV (Reuters) – An American woman working at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv died after a suspected assault in a park near the mission, authorities said, and a search was underway for the possible perpetrator.

Ukrainian police said a passerby found the woman unconscious with a head injury, wearing running gear and headphones in the area of western Kyiv. She was taken to hospital, where she died.

Police added they were seeking a dark-haired man aged between 30-40, who wore dark shorts and a T-shirt, and may have been involved in beating the American woman.

In a statement, the U.S. embassy, which employs about 181 Americans and more than 560 locals, said it was working with Ukrainian authorities to determine what happened.

The woman’s identity and job were not given.

Interior Ministry spokesman Artem Shevchenko posted pictures of the scene on Facebook, showing the woman had been found by railway tracks next to a wooded area.

“The National Police of Ukraine is investigating her death as a deliberate murder … but an accidental death is not ruled out. The body was in sports clothes and wearing headphones,” he said in a statement.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Washington, Volodymyr Yelchenko, urged quick resolution and prosecution.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Gareth Jones, Timothy Heritage, Alexandra Hudson and Andrew Cawthorne)