Rescue crews in China are drilling new shafts to reach the 21 surviving miners who have now been trapped for 11 days after an explosion.
Rescuers have been in contact with 11 of the workers who are trapped in a section of a gold mine on the outskirts of Yantai, a major gold-producing region in northeast Shandong province, and have managed to send down food, medicine and other supplies.
Twenty-two miners were initially trapped in the Jan. 10 blast. Chinese state media said Wednesday that one of the miners has died of injuries sustained in the disaster.
Chinese media reports rescue teams lost precious time as it took more than a day for the accident to be reported.
