Rescuers said Monday they saw hope for some miners to survive Saturday's iron mine collapse in Anqing, a city in East China's Anhui Province as they still heard human voices more than 50 hours after the tragedy.

Vague voices were heard from a platform some 130 meters underground, where eight miners, including a woman, have been trapped since Saturday morning. "We're certain there's someone alive," said a fireman in the rescue team who went 103 meters down the shaft Monday morning.

Waist-deep siltage at the bottom of the shaft kept the team from moving further, though rescuers have been cleaning siltage since Saturday night.

Sources with the emergency rescue headquarters said a scaffold has been set up in the shaft and medical workers are standing by to provide first-aid.

Following the collapse at the Dalongshan Iron Mine in Dalongshan Township at 4:50 a.m. Saturday, rocks, dust and water capped the ventilation hole and the exit, making it impossible for the miners to escape.

A geological team is drilling a new ventilation hole through which rescuers will provide the miners with water.

It is still unknown how many miners are alive.

The Dalongshan Iron Mine was founded in 1992 as a township-run company but was privatized in 1999. It employs 15 people and produces 15,000 tons of iron ore a year.

In the wake of the tragedy, the city government of Anqing ordered all local mines to halt production for a safety overhaul. Enditem