Miners rescued after collapse

ZENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Exhausted, dusty but happy to be alive, 29 miners were pulled out one by one Friday from a trouble-plagued coal mine that collapsed a day earlier in central Bosnia. They left behind five men, presumed dead under rubble deep underground and beyond the reach of rescuers.

Emergency workers had dug through more than 100 meters (330 feet) of collapsed mine tunnels 500 meters below the surface to reach the trapped men. 

Families of those who were left behind broke down in tears as authorities closed the pit entrance. 

“We could not reach that group of people,” said rescue worker Amir Arnaut. “We could only reach the first group.”

Officials said that an investigation will be launched to determine the cause of the accident, but they suggested it was linked to a 3.5 magnitude earthquake which hit the town of Zenica on Thursday afternoon, according to Bosnia’s seismologists. The tremor caused a pressure burst and a gas blast which collapsed the mine, officials said.