<span style="color: #222222;">11 of the 22 miners trapped for two weeks in a gold mine in China's eastern Shandong province have been rescued on Sunday, as reported by state media. Twenty-two miners got trapped about 600 meters underground since the mine blast on Jan. 10 in Qixia, under the city of Yantai, in Shandong Province with no communication to the surface. One worker died from a head wound following the explosion that deposited massive amounts of rubble in the shaft. The fate of 10 others is unknown as there is no communication with them.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">After two weeks, rescuers made huge breakthrough today. Just days before, they had estimated that it might take another two weeks to free the workers. Around a week after the explosion, rescue workers managed to send food, medicine, and other supplies down to the trapped miners through several boreholes drilled into the earth but drilling to bring them out was extremely tough.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Such protracted and expensive rescue efforts are relatively new in China's mining industry, which used to average 5,000 deaths per year. In an industry long-blighted by disasters and high death tolls, a new crackdown was ordered after two accidents in southwestern Chongqing province late last year killed 39 miners. Increased supervision has improved safety, although demand for coal and precious metals continues to prompt corner-cutting. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Authorities have detained mine managers for delaying reporting the accident and two government officials were dismissed from their posts for dereliction of duty.</span><br />''  <br />