Miners Trapped for 9 Days Request Pickles, Sausages

A dozen miners who have been trapped 1,700 feet beneath the surface since Jan. 10 are ready to eat more than nutritional liquids while they wait to be rescued. Using a telephone line that has been newly delivered to the No. 6 chamber of the gold mine, where all but one of the men known to be alive are located, the workers requested pickles and pork sausages. That 12th surviving miner is in an adjacent chamber; the fate of 10 others hasn't been established, though the BBC reports the miners indicated that they were initially able to communicate with a miner roughly 150 feet below them, but that the contact has ended.

The AP reports the officials in the city of Yantai, which is located in the eastern province of Shandong, on Tuesday released a short video that showed the rescue effort in action; six shafts are being drilled to various sections of the mine. Fears are apparently rising regarding the underground water levels, and it's possible pumps may be employed to try to keep the levels down. (The blast wasn't reported for 30 hours.)