Trapped miners ate newspaper, leather belt: report

BEIJING, Dec 10, 2007 (AFP) - Eleven Chinese miners who survived more than five days trapped underground said they tried eating newspaper and a leather belt in their effort to stave off hunger, state media reported Monday.

They staggered out of an unlicensed iron and gold mine in northern China on Sunday after an 129-hour ordeal that followed the collapse of the mine shaft roof, the Beijing Youth Daily said.

"When we were hungry we picked up and ate newspaper, or a few pages out of a book," miner Wu Pengyong told the paper.

"Then we were still really hungry. I had a leather belt, so I cut it into pieces and used an empty can to cook it ... but it wouldn't cook. I divided it half-cooked and gave it out to everyone."

The only edible food he said they had was some orange peel, although they did have some water to help them through their ordeal.

The owner of the illegal mine near Chengde city in Hebei province had tried to cover up the accident, meaning rescuers did not get to the mine and begin work until Wednesday, two days after the accident happened.

All of the miners remained in a local hospital for treatment and were in satisfactory conditions, the Beijing Youth Daily said.