BEIJING (AP) - Three miners have been found alive after
surviving 25 days trapped in a flooded mine in southern China, a
local official said Monday.

The miners drank water that seeped through the earth, said Wang
Guangneng, a Communist Party spokesman in the Guizhou province
county of Qinglong.

The Xinqiao Coal Mine was flooded on June 17 while 16 miners
were working underground, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Rescuers recovered one body a week later and are still searching
for the 12 other men, it said.

The three miners were trapped for 604 hours, Wang said.

China's mining industry is the world's deadliest, despite
government promises to improve mining safety. Most accidents are
blamed on failures to follow safety rules or a lack of required
ventilation, fire-control and other safety equipment.

Wang said the three miners were in stable condition and will be
transferred to a province-level hospital.

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