Beijing, Jan 24 (IANS): Eleven miners were rescued on Sunday after being trapped underground for two weeks following a blast in a gold mine in China's Shandong province.

Rescuers lifted two workers, bringing the overall number to 11, Xinhua news agency.

The first rescued miner was lifted from the mine early Sunday morning. The worker, said to be in extremely weak condition, was rushed to a hospital for treatment.

Currently, 633 people and 407 equipment are at the site for rescue operations.

Twenty-two miners were trapped about 600 metres underground since the mine blast on January 10 in Qixia, under the city of Yantai.

Rescuers had managed to establish contact with only 10 of the miners, who were in good physical and psychological condition.

One worker is believed to have died.

Mining accidents are not uncommon in China, where the industry safety regulations can be poorly enforced, according to a BBC report.

In December 2020, 23 miners died after a carbon monoxide leak at a coal mine.

In September, 16 workers were killed at another mine on the outskirts of Chongqing, also due to carbon monoxide.

In December 2019, an explosion at a coal mine in Guizhou province, south-west China, killed at least 14 people.