最新消息, 山西王家嶺礦難, 已有九人從井下安全救出,

XIANGNING, China — Nine miners were pulled to safety early Monday after spending more than a week trapped in a flooded coal mine in northern China, and state television reported more survivors may be found.

The nine men -- among 153 trapped since March 28 -- were wrapped in blankets, placed in ambulances and rushed to a hospital where teams of doctors and nurses had been standing by for several days.

China Central Television said more people in the Wangjialing mine could still be alive, but did not give any details.

It showed images of the miners being taken into the hospital in Hejin city, about 30 miles (50 kilometres) from the mine. Their eyes were covered to shield them from the bright lights. Some were hooked up to intravenous drips.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that their blood pressure and heart rates were normal after spending 179 hours trapped underground. It quoted one of the survivors, Li Guoyu, 38, from Henan province in central China, as saying they had gone without water because they were worried about drinking the dirty water flowing in the tunnel.

The nine had been trapped since workers broke a wall into a water-filled abandoned shaft, flooding the mine in Shanxi province in northern China. About 3,000 people have worked around the clock using 14 pumps to suck the water out of the mine.

A glimmer of hope emerged Friday when rescuers heard knocking on a pipe that had been drilled into the mine. But no sounds were heard after that as workers frantically pumped water out and sent divers into the mine to scout conditions.

Finally, at 40 minutes past midnight Monday the first survivor was brought to the surface. A crowd of people outside the entrance of the mine shaft clapped as the miners were carried out.

Reporters who did not belong to state media were prevented from getting close to the site.

CCTV did not say how may other survivors there may be. Xinhua reported that swaying lamp lights were seen at the other side of a V-shaped shaft in the mine, indicating people might be there.