The notoriously deadly mining situation in China has finally taken a turn for the better with the recent ongoing rescue of 26 miners in Heilongjiang province. Trapped since the mine flooded on August 23rd, 3 miners were rescued last Saturday, and 19 more were pulled from the mine Tuesday morning - after seven days underground! They managed to stay alive by drinking water drops and with the food and air supplied by a 920-foot pipe drilled down through the rock to assist them. So far all survivors are hospitalized and in good condition, bringing hope for the others. The mine flooding, usually a hopeless death sentence in China, occurred when they accidentally drilled into an adjacent flooded mine. The worst thing about this accident is that the mine involved was operating illegally, after being ordered to shut down back in 2007. more ›

Last week we posted about a coal mine fire in east Shandong province that trapped 36 miners underground in a mine owned by Zaozhuang Fangbei Coal Mine Co. Ltd. In more recent news, 24 miners remain trapped with little hope of a successful rescue. more ›

@relevantorgans: Party criticizes Chile for interfering in China's affairs by setting unrealistic expectations for value of miners' lives. more ›

Jessie Chen at Forbes' China Tracker lists the weird things that we get used to living here in China. Unfortunately, it's not stuff like "turning on the VPN" or "watching a kid pee on the street," heading into territory that's more like "mine disasters" and "violent evictions." Still, even if it's being serious, the list is hardly comprehensive. I'd add "useless prostitute busts" and "Premier Wen Jiabao showing up at another possibly man-made 'natural' disaster." You? more ›

36 coal miners are still trapped after a mine flooded at about 3.30pm yesterday at the Nadu Mine in the Guangxi region. Rescuers have since saved 13 people after 10 hours and 12 of the 36 still trapped are in contact with rescuers and are in safe places within the mine. These miners are reported to be about 2km from the mouth of the mine and rescuers are struggling to get water and food to them as they continue rescue efforts. more ›