Two South Korean miners survived 9 days underground on coffee powder
World - Posted date: 10:46, November 6, 2022
Two South Korean miners were trapped 190 meters underground in a zinc mine in Bonghwa on October 26.
According to BBC, two miners were rescued on November 4 and immediately taken to a local hospital.
Yonhap news agency said rescuers drilled a hole in the mine and inserted a camera to find the two people trapped inside.
Officials said the two miners were in stable condition after being rescued. Firefighter Sim Yoon Sook said the miners had instant coffee powder with them and had been eating it to sustain themselves. They also drank any water that came out while trapped underground.
According to Yonhap news agency, both families were extremely happy to be reunited.
"I shouted, 'Dad!'" Park Geun Hyeong, the son of one of the two survivors, recalled with a smile. "I told him that he was a celebrity now."
The remaining survivor's niece, Lim, said her uncle initially kept asking her who she was, as he was wearing an eye patch after nearly 10 days in the dark.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said the rescue on November 4 was "truly miraculous".
"Thank you for coming back safely from the crossroads of life and death," Mr. Yoon wrote on Facebook on November 5.
South Korea's president is under fire after the Itaewon Halloween tragedy left more than 150 people dead last week.
Thousands of people gathered near Seoul City Hall on the evening of November 5 to mourn the 156 people who died. Many of them demanded that President Yoon Suk Yeol take responsibility and resign.
The victims of the Itaewon tragedy were mostly young people in their twenties. An estimated 100,000 people flocked to the area to celebrate the first Halloween in three years of the pandemic.
Officials admit there was no safety plan for the night and opposition politicians accuse the government of not taking responsibility for the tragedy.
Local media reported that a woman believed to be the mother of one of the victims tore up a wreath placed by the President and the Mayor of Seoul at the memorial site.
“What good are these flowers if they can’t protect our children?” the woman said in a video posted by South Korean media. “What good is standing next to these wreaths if you let your children die?”
According to Tuoi Tre