In this photo from Nov. 4, coworkers of the two miners who were trapped deep within a zinc mine in Bonghwa County, North Gyeongsang Province, hug each other in excitement after finding the trapped miners still alive. Courtesy of Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters

Despair, hope tested two survivors who barely knew each other

By Ko Dong-hwan

Park Jeong-ha, 62, one of the two miners who survived 10 days trapped underground until helping hands miraculously arrived, has 25 years of experience working in the profession. One life-saving tip he remembered from a survival manual, in the event of a tunnel collapse, was not to stay helplessly in one place after becoming trapped but to salvage what is available and prepare a shelter to minimize the danger. This is what he and the other miner did, barricading the place with vinyl coverings to block the cold wind.

The other miner, 56, who wished to only be identified by the surname Park, started working for the mining firm in Bonghwa County, North Gyeongsang Province, only four days before the accident occurred on Oct. 26. The inexperienced miner said after being saved on Nov. 4 that the moment of collapse had instantly shrouded him in darkness as 900 tons of debris fell around them. It was such a shocking moment that he couldn't feel his arms and legs at first.

"My head was paralyzed and I couldn't think rationally," the younger Park said in a media interview, Monday. He sometimes sobbed while thinking about his desperate situation. "But I survived because I could rely on my superior who had many years of experience as a miner."

The pair barely knew each other before the incident. But they started getting to know each other better while trapped 190 meters underground.