Rescuers pull 29 from flooded Chinese coal mine

The miners were trapped Sunday morning after the small Batian mine in southwest China's Sichuan province suddenly flooded.

Initially thought only numbering 28, following contact with rescue workers the number of miners trapped was revised upward to 29.

State broadcaster China Central Television showed a line of ambulances and large crowds waiting near the entrance to the mine while medics eased survivors onto stretchers wrapped in quilts after being led out of the mine.

The miners were barefoot and naked, their work clothes apparently drenched by the flood, and they wore blindfolds so the sunlight wouldn't hurt their eyes after more than 24 hours in the dark shafts.

The crowd erupted into celebratory applause and shouting as each miner was brought out.

China's mines are the deadliest in the world, with more than 2,600 people killed in coal mine accidents in 2009 alone.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Batian had stopped production and was being upgraded to increase its annual capacity from 50,000 tons to 60,000 tons, adding that  the workers had been underground for safety work.

While most of China's mining accidents occur in small, illegal mines, Xinhua quoted Lin Shucheng, chief of the provincial work safety bureau, as saying Batian's operation was legal and fully licensed.