Park Jung-ha, one of the two miners who were rescued from a collapsed mine in southeastern Korea after nine days, lies next to his colleague at a hospital in Andong, 268 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Nov. 5. Yonhap

Park Jung-ha, one of the two miners who walked out of a collapsed mine Friday night after being trapped for nine days, said he never lost hope and made constant efforts to find a way out.

"It's good to be out. We spent time consoling each other in the tunnel," the 62-year old told Yonhap News Agency in an interview Saturday as he was recovering in a hospital in Andong, 268 kilometers southeast of Seoul. "We looked around the tunnel holding onto hope that there would be a way if we tried everything."

Park and another miner, also surnamed Park and aged 56, had been stuck in a vertical shaft about 190 meters underground at a zinc mine in the county of Bonghwa, 244 km southeast of Seoul, since the mine collapsed on Oct. 26. The miners subsisted on instant powdered coffee that they brought with them before being rescued after 221 hours.

Park Jung-ha, one of the two miners who were rescued in a collapsed mine in southeastern Korea after nine days, is greeted by North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo at a hospital in Andong, 268 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Nov. 5. Yonhap

"When the accident first happened, I never imagined it would take this long," he said as he thanked the rescue workers and everyone who supported them. "I could only survive because of all the efforts made by many people."

As he recounted the moment he was miraculously rescued, Park said, "The blast sound that seemed so far away was a real blast this time and we faced the rescue workers as the tunnel was penetrated through to the other side."

"If we weren't out by now, we would probably be holding each other and crying in the mine," he said as he turned to his colleague in the room.