South Korean miners rescued
This photo taken Nov. 4, 2022, and provided by the Gyeongbuk fire service headquarters via Yonhap news agency shows a miner being rescued from a collapsed zinc mine in the county of Bonghwa, southeast of Seoul. Image Credit: AFP

Seoul: Two South Korean miners who were trapped inside a collapsed zinc mine in the country's northeastern county of Bonghwa walked out alive after nine days late on Friday as the nation mourned a deadly Halloween tragedy, officials said on Saturday.

Local fire authorities said the two miners walked out of the underground mine that had collapsed after a landslide on Oct. 26, through rescue efforts that focused on drilling a hole.

The two survived by consuming instant, sweetened coffee powder and pitched a tent with plastics inside the collapsed mine to keep themselves warm, local Yonhap News reported citing rescuers.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a week-long mourning period through Nov. 5 after 156 people killed in a crowd crush in Seoul during Halloween festivities.