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Miners trapped for 25 days: Bye hospital, hi uncertainty

By Huang Zhiling (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-28 07:59

GUIYANG: The three men trapped underground for 25 days may face uncertain futures, but they are certain about one thing.

"We don't want to be miners any more," said Zhao Weixing as he and his two colleagues left the hospital Monday.

Rescued miners leave hospital after two weeks of treatment in the Affiliated Hospital of Guiyang Medical College, July 27, 2009. The trio had been trapped for 25 days underground after a mine flooded on June 17 in Qinglong county in Guizhou. [Xinhua]

"However, we are not sure what to do to support our families in the future," Zhao said.

Zhao, 36, Wang Kuangwei, 35, and Wang Quanjie, 36, traded in hospital garb for casual sports wear Monday during a farewell ceremony at the Affiliated Hospital of Guiyang Medical College in Guizhou province.

The trio was rescued 15 days ago from the Xinqiao mine in Qinglong, where they spent 25 days after it flooded on June 17, burying 11 others and killing two.

The three miraculously stayed alive by eating tree bark and drinking water leaking into the mine.

Related readings:  Miraculous survival tale retold  Rescuers tell story of miners' miraculous survival  Miners found alive after 25 days  After 25 days undergound, 3 miners come out alive

They were bombarded by questions from the media during Monday's 20-minute ceremony. Answering one question at a time in a straight-forward manner, they seemed more worried about their futures than their skinny bodies still on the mend after 15 days of treatment.

"We are not sure who is going to take care of us when we leave the hospital," Zhao said.

He has no idea about a possible compensation plan as the local county government is still looking for the 11 other missing miners.

Although they have recovered, the miners don't have confidence in the future, "because they fear they will not be as strong as before to support their families," professor Wang Yiming of the hospital's department of psychology told China Daily.

"They always told me about their concerns about the future when I counseled them," she said.

Receiving treatment in the hospital's intensive care unit for 14 days, the trio has normal heart and lung functions and normal blood pressure.

"They can speak and walk freely, eat porridge, noodles, eggs and fruits. They are expected to have the same food as ordinary people in one week," Wang Yiming said.

The hospital exempted all medical costs for the miners during their two-week stay, which would otherwise have cost them around 2,000 yuan per day.

At Monday's ceremony, the miners said they still felt weak, but their health is expected to return to normal in one month, said Wang Xiaolin, president of the Affiliated Hospital of Guiyang Medical College.

When Wang Xiaolin gave each man 2,000 yuan and a bouquet of flowers on behalf of his hospital, the trio kept their emotions under control.

"They were calm during the entire ceremony. Their state of mind was a major reason for their survival underground for 25 days," Wang Yiming said.

"We believed rescuers would come if we did not die of hunger or were not swept away by the flood," Zhao told China Daily.

They will stay in Guiyang for another day or two before returning to their home village in Ruyang, Henan province.