RANCHI, India (Reuters) - A miner trapped in a flooded coal pit in eastern India for nearly six days was brought out alive Thursday but the body of another man was found later, the mining company said.

Salim Ansari, one of 29 men trapped in the colliery since Friday, was rushed to hospital unconscious but later recovered to speak to relatives.

He said that he had found an air pocket where he survived by drinking water. ``I am alright now,'' Ramanuj Prasad, a spokesman of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd., quoted the miner as saying.

Prasad said rescuers brought out the body of another worker after the water level receded in one of the blocks of the state-run mine near the eastern town of Dhanbad in the country's main mineral belt.

Company officials had said chances of finding anyone alive in the submerged mine were remote after naval divers failed to make any contact with the trapped men. The divers found the body of one of the miners early in the rescue effort.

At least 100 miners were working underground when the disaster struck Friday. Sixty-five miners were rescued immediately. Later the mining company said there were 30 men trapped below.

Prasad said level one of the mine would be completely ''de-watered'' by afternoon.

``Rescuers will then go inside to locate and recover,'' he said.

Security has been tightened around the mine after relatives of the miners protested against the slow pace of the rescue. One newspaper quoted a relative as saying that the men should be brought out ``dead or alive.''

Earlier Stories
Coal Miner Found Alive in Indian Pit After Six Days (February 7)

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