Thieves Steal Electric Cable - Hide In Toxic Mine To Evade Police - Rescued

[matcom]

<snip>

BEIJING (Reuters) - Two electric cable-stealing thieves in northeast China were rescued from a mine full of poisonous gas after spending 23 hours underground in a bid to evade police, state media reported on Tuesday.

The two men, from Jidong county, in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, fled down a 1,500-metre (5,000-ft) shaft full of carbon monoxide after being caught stealing cabling at a mine in Hada village, Xinhua said, citing police.

"The colliery... had halted production for safety reasons and police believed it could cave in at any time," Xinhua said.

Police waited at the mine's exits, deployed search parties underground, and yelled down the shaft with a loudspeaker, "but hours of shouting met with no response", Xinhua said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070206/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_china_mine_thieves;_ylt=AjRLkmHVtqDG1rDc0.52NGzMWM0F;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-