After two days of rescue efforts, rescuers have been unable to reach the miners. The new passage will bypass the fire-affected and collapsed areas to reach the part where the trapped miners might be. However, it may take three to four days to dig a tunnel to reach the trapped workers.
The miners have been trapped since Saturday 22 September 2012 when a fire broke out while working at a shaft of the the Longshan Coal Mine in Youyi County of Shuangyashan. Two of the 13 miners managed to escape.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
