19 miners rescued after cave-in in Poland

NINETEEN copper miners in Poland have been rescued after being trapped underground for more than seven hours by a cave-in caused by an earthquake.

The workers crawled their way to the surface of the Rudna copper mine, the deepest in Europe, after rescuers used excavators to clear rocks that had buried them almost a kilometre below ground, said operator KGHM.

Twenty-three miners initially managed to escape after the 10-second quake in Poland's southwestern mining belt late on Tuesday caused the ceiling of one section of the mine to collapse, spokeswoman Anna Osadczuk told AFP.

Two of the 42 miners on duty were taken to hospital with minor injuries, she said.

Rescue workers "used excavators to remove the rock until they saw an opening, through which they were able to communicate with the trapped miners," Osadczuk said, adding that the 19 had been caught about 960 metres below the surface.

"The rescue workers were crawling up to the opening on their knees."

One miner was taken to hospital with bruises, while another received stitches to his head and spoke of spinal pain, she said.

"It was a very dramatic night, but luckily the day began with good news," Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters in Warsaw.

KGHM chief executive Herbert Wirth said luck played a part in the survival of the miners.

"They were at the front, which was well ventilated and they did not run out of fresh air. That all led to such a positive outcome," Wirth said, quoted by Polish news agency PAP.

Rudna, which has been open since 1969, churns out about 12.3 million tonnes of ore a year.

KGHM, which is 31 per cent state-owned, is the only copper producer in Poland, operating three mines in the southwest of the country.

It was also the world's top silver producer in 2011, according to the latest World Silver Survey.

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