Two men survive nine days in collapsed mine with nothing but instant coffee powder

Two men have garnered global attention for miraculously surviving nine days in a collapsed mine – with nothing but an instant coffee mix.

The pair had been stuck 190 meters underground at a zinc mine in southeastern South Korea since the mine collapsed on October 26.

After 221 gruelling hours, authorities said the two men aged 62 and 56 were in stable health condition and sent to the hospital for checks.

The miners happened to be carrying instant coffee powder that they mixed with groundwater. The coffee mix helped them maintain their body temperatures in extreme conditions.

Some internet users jokingly remarked that the coffee brand should hire the miners as spokespeople.

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"My father walked out of the tunnel on his own two feet in good health. It's unbelievable," a son of the 62-year-old miner told The Korea Times.

During a statement on Saturday (November 5), Yoon Yeong-don, chief of the Bonghwa fire authorities said: "They were rescued at a site a little bit spacious near the accident site, and they had kept themselves warm with a bonfire and plastic and subsisted by drinking water that fell from the ceiling,"

One of the rescuers Bang Jang-seok explained that the miners were found shoulder to shoulder to keep themselves warm. He believes they survived due to experience in the job and a contingency manual provided by their company.

"We expect the two will be able to leave the hospital in days," Bang Jong-hyo, the doctor of the two, said during a press briefing at the hospital. "They are in quick recovery, mentally and physically. I bet they were in good physical state before."

Luckily, the miners made a full recovery in a matter of days and doctors at Andong Hospital discharged the pair.

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