Eleven miners were lifted to safety by 3:18 pm on Sunday, 14 days after an explosion trapped 22 miners underground at a gold mine at Qixia, East China's Shandong province, according to rescue headquarters.

Seven miners walked to ambulances on their own with the support of rescuers after being lifted to the surface. The other two were carried into ambulances by rescuers due to injuries.

The first trapped miner was lifted to the surface around 11 am Sunday, 14 days after an explosion trapped 22 miners underground at a gold mine at Qixia, Shandong province, according to CCTV news.

The miner was found at the No 4 section of the mine while rescuers were clearing the debris heaped at the shaft previously used by miners to enter and exit the mine.

The miner was sent to a hospital immediately after being lifted to the surface because he felt weak.

Twenty-two miners have been trapped about 600 meters underground since a mine blast on Jan 10 in Qixia, under the city of Yantai, in Shandong province.

So far, rescuers have established contact with only 10 of the miners, who are in good physical and psychological condition. Another is believed to be dead.

Rescue headquarters at the site said that they have sent food, clothes, and other supplies to the 10 miners through a channel.

Rescuers are still racing against the clock to dig into the blocked mine shaft in an effort to set up an escape route for the trapped workers.

Some of the workers have helped the rescuers search for the 11 missing miners using laser pointers and loudspeakers, but have received no response.

Rescuers have continued to lower life detectors and nutrient solutions into other sections of the mine to locate the missing miners, but still have not encountered any signs of life.