South Korean miners survived on coffee powder while trapped underground for days

Two South Korean miners who were trapped underground following a mine collapse survived on instant coffee powder for nine days, according to the local authorities.

The two men were stuck underground after a part of the zinc mine they were working in collapsed in the north-eastern county of Bonghwa. They had been trapped about 190 metres (620 feet) underground since October 26.

The two men, aged 62 and 56, kept themselves warm by lighting a fire and making a tent out of plastic. The two drank from water falling from the shaft's ceiling.

They were rescued on November 4, more than nine days after the incident took place. Both were able to walk and were rushed to a local hospital.

The rescue workers had to drill a hole to locate the miners. They also inserted a small camera in the mine to locate them. They were eventually found sitting shoulder to shoulder to keep warm in a spacious chamber where miner shafts meet, per a BBC report.

"They had instant coffee mix powder with them, and I was told they had that as a meal," said Lim Yoon-sook, a fire department officer. "I have been also told they endured by drinking any water that dropped inside the shaft," he added.

President Yoon Suk Yeol called their rescue "miracle-like" and "touching." A statement by him on Facebook read: "Thank you and thank you again for coming back safely from the crossroads of life and death."

The two men are in stable condition. Park Jeong-ha, the son of one of the rescued miners, told ABC News: "I have lots of things to tell my father so I've written them down on a notebook in the past 10 days."

"Now I want to spend some time with my father to tell him what I want to say and listen to what I want to hear from him," he added. The incident comes days after more than 150 people were killed in a crowd crush in the capital Seoul last week. The country is still in a period of national mourning.