BEIJING (AP) – Onlookers burst into applause as 69 coal miners trapped in a flooded shaft for more than three days were pulled out Wednesday, a rare rescue in a country with the world’s deadliest mines.

The 69 were stuck underground but uninjured when the state-owned Zhijian mine in Henan province’s Shan County filled with water early Sunday. Thirty-three other miners managed to escape.

The trapped miners were rescued at midday Wednesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported. It said the first to emerge, identified as Lan Jianning, was met by a crowd who began clapping when they saw him.

News photos showed miners, partially clothed and covered in soot, being led from the mine supported by rescuers and paramedics. Some were placed on stretchers.

They were also blindfolded, presumably to protect their eyes from the sun after being trapped underground for days.

“Everyone knew we could be saved because the telephone line wasn’t broken. If it had been, we’d be dead for sure,” survivor Yang Wanjun, 32, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

State media said Tuesday the area where the miners were trapped was dry and had electricity and a telephone line.

Rescuers piped in oxygen in a bid to keep the miners healthy and buy time to save them.

They also poured 149 gallons of milk down the 2,625-foot ventilation pipe, which the miners drank from their helmets. It was their only source of nourishment in 76 hours, Xinhua said.

Ma Jianzhong, director of the Henan Provincial Department of Health, was quoted as saying some of the miners suffered diarrhea after drinking filthy water underground, but all were stable and expected to recover fully.

The report did not specify how the rescuers reached the miners, but they had been pumping water out of the flooded shafts and clearing away silt since Sunday.

China’s coal mines are the world’s deadliest, with fatalities reported nearly every day in fires, explosions and floods despite government efforts to improve safety.

Deadly accidents often are blamed on mine owners who disregard safety rules and fail to invest in required ventilation, fire control and other equipment.

Li Yizhong, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, was quoted by Xinhua as saying he felt “hugely relieved” when he saw the workers being pulled out, describing the feeling as having a “a huge stone lifted from (his) heart.”

“It’s one of the most successful rescue operations in recent years,” he told Xinhua.

AP-ES-08-01-07 1138EDT