A search was on to rescue the ninth miner, Xinhua reported.

The eight miners appeared Tuesday at the entrance to the mine that collapsed last Thursday but it wasn't immediately known how they managed to escape or survive for a week, the report said. They were hospitalized and listed in stable condition.

A Communist Party official said the first miner managed to walk out of the tunnel on his own about 7 p.m. Tuesday. The other seven emerged 10 minutes later and had to be helped out by rescuers, the report said.

Rescuers had established the location of the ninth miner and were working hard to reach him, the official said.

There were 38 workers in the mine when it caved in but 29 of them managed to quickly escape.

Last month, at least 30 miners died in a coal-mine disaster in southern Guangxi Zhuang province. The miners were trapped after the mine flooded.