One of the last two miners rescued from a Shandong gold mine on Sunday afternoon, Mr. Wang, put his palms together immediately after being pulled from the deep – a gesture of gratitude for all the people who never gave up on him.

Twenty-two miners were trapped after a blast occurred underground at 2 p.m. on January 10 at the mine in Qixia, Yantai City, east China's Shandong Province. 

Wang, 47, hit the drill pipe back on January 17, sending the first signal of life from underground.

Read more: 11 gold miners rescued in E China after 14 days trapped underground 

At the time, he was in a better physical condition than most of his colleagues trapped there. With the help of 10 of his fellow workers, he struggled his way towards the drill pipe.

"I hit the pipe five times, which means we were at the fifth section of the mine. Then I heard nine knocks. I assumed that could have meant we'd been trapped for nine days, so I responded with nine knocks," Wang said.

"After that, I heard over 20 knocks, but I didn't understand. I went back to discuss it with the other miners. We thought that could mean the number of miners underground, so I went back and responded with 22 knocks."

The miners, trapped at a depth of 580 meters under the surface, said they'll never forget the moment they finally saw the drill pipe reach into their tunnel.

"At that time, I felt like I was snatched from the jaws of death. We had eaten nothing for nine days by then, but everyone immediately stood up after hearing the drill pipe approaching us. I was too excited to describe my feelings in words," said a rescued miner surnamed Du.

Du said there were no food reserves underground because the gold mine was still under construction.

Although the groundwater gushing into their tunnel was not suitable for drinking, they still sipped a little from time to time, just to stay alive.

During his days of darkness underground, one miner said some were despondent, others optimistic, but all had to pull together to boost morale and lift each other's spirits.

One thing they never doubted is that rescuers would be on their way to save them, said the miner.

The families of the miners stayed in a hotel near the gold mine, and anxiously followed the daily updates.

"I watched the livestream when they were lifted to the ground, and I immediately recognized my brother, because I saw the jade pendant tied with a red string on his neck," said Mr. Chen, a family member of a rescued miner.

"The first thing I'll say to my brother will be 'It's good to see you alive.' Then I'll give him a hug. If he hadn't been rescued, I might never have had the chance to hug him again," said Mr. Han, a family member of another rescued.

So far, the 11 rescued miners are all in a stable condition. They are being taken care of by a special medical team that will continue to assess their psychological state.

As of Monday, 10 people had been confirmed dead as a result of the explosion, and one is still missing.

Local authorities said the tunnel below a depth of 600 meters has nearly been engulfed by groundwater, but they will continue to search for the missing miner after the water is drained.

Read more: Rescue continues after gold mine blast traps 22 in east China