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Coal mine flood survivors leave hospital

By Duo Yujie (China Daily Henan Bureau)
Updated: 2009-07-29 16:38

The three miners, who have been miraculously rescued after being trapped underground in a flooded Guizhou mine for 25 days, left hospital to return home on July 28.

Zhao Weixing, Wang Kuangwei and Wang Quanjie were greeted by over three hundred people at the Xinzheng airport, including journalists and Henan Labor Union (HLU) and Henan Coal Chemical Industry Group (HNCC) officials who helped rescue them.

The three miners, who all wore crisp white shirts, were accompanied by doctors from the Affiliated Hospital of Guiyang Medical College who treated them after the June 17 disaster.

According to Yang Guohui, the head of the Intensive Care Unit, "The three of them are in good condition now. The two-hour flight didn't seem to be a problem for them."

The men, who all received flowers upon their arrival, seemed to be in good spirits and said they were excited and very grateful about being able to come home again.

Wang Kuangwei held his wife Liang Yuting's hands firmly all the way back from the airport to Zhengzhou where the couple lives.

"We used to quarrelling over trivial matters every now and then," said Liang.

"We would never quarrel with each other ever again. Never! "

The following evening, the three miners along with three rescue workers who saved their lives attended a welcome ceremony organized by HLU and HNCC, where they received a prize between the six of them worth 100 thousand yuan.

The three men, who have been concerned about their future employment while recovering, have been formally offered employment by HNCC.

Zhao Weixing, on behalf of all three of them, gave a thank-you speech.

"My life is, in a way, saved by all the fellow friends in Henan. I would like to thank all members of the rescue team and all those people back in Henan who had been caring about us all this time," he said.

The three miners plan to soon return to Ruyang, their hometown in Henan, to visit relatives and friends.