Eight miners were found to be alive on Wednesday morning, though they have been trapped underground for five days afters a gypsum mine collapsed in Pingyi county, Shandong province, according to the rescue command center.

Rescuers detected the miners by using infrared cameras to peer into darkness through a 17.8 cm diameter hole drilled by the Shandong Bureau of Coal Geology.

A mobile phone was sent to the miners through the hole.