BEIJING — Rescuers using infrared cameras to peer into darkness at a wrecked mine in eastern China on Wednesday found eight surviving miners who were trapped for five days after a collapse so violent it registered as a seismic event.
The disaster on Christmas Day at the gypsum mine in Shandong province killed at least one worker. Nine others remain missing, and 11 made it to safety or were rescued early on.
Infrared cameras detected the surviving miners waving their hands Wednesday, and rescuers were drawing up plans to pull them to safety, said state broadcaster China Central Television, or CCTV. The rescuers sent provisions underground to the trapped men, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.
The workers were weak with hunger but otherwise were in good health, CCTV reported. They told rescuers they were in passages underground that were intact.
C.A.R. elections peaceful
BANGUI, Central African Republic — Presidential and legislative elections in the Central African Republic on Wednesday concluded without violence as people cast their ballots to seek an end to almost three years of lawlessness in the diamond-producing nation.
The vote was postponed from Dec. 27 because ballots hadn’t been distributed. Two earlier deadlines to organize the vote this year also were missed. The national elections authority didn’t register any incidents and the turnout is expected to be at least 65 percent of voters, Marie-Madeleine Koue, president of the authority, said by phone. United Nations peacekeepers helped secure polling stations across the country.
Front-runners among the 30 presidential candidates are two former prime ministers, Anicet-Georges Dologuele and Martin Ziguele. A second round will be held on Jan. 31 if none of the candidates wins a majority.
Polish party’s media move
WARSAW — Poland’s ruling party is pushing a bill through parliament to allow its government to directly appoint executives to public broadcasters and end what it sees as biased media coverage against its policies.
In a parliamentary vote carried out after midnight, Law & Justice backed the draft law, which also drops requirements to hold contests for senior positions in public media and diminishes the role of the media regulator. Opposition politicians oppose the legislation, saying it grants the government full control over public broadcasters and continues a worrying pattern of the party extending its influence.
Storm sank Chinese cruiser
BEIJING — Chinese authorities blamed freak weather for the capsizing of a cruise ship that killed hundreds earlier this year, but also recommended that the captain be further investigated and representatives of the shipping company and local authorities be punished for management flaws, state media announced.
The disaster on the Yangtze River on the evening of June 1 killed 442 people and left just 12 survivors. The Eastern Star was carrying many elderly tourists on a cruise from Nanjing to Chongqing.
Priest on a hoverboard
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Roman Catholic Church officials have reprimanded a priest for riding a hoverboard and singing a song during Christmas Eve Mass.
The Diocese of San Pablo, south of Manila, said the Rev. Albert San Jose apologized for his action, which was caught on video.
First Published: December 31, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
