59-Year-Old Chinese Miner Comes Out Alive After 17 Years Underground: Hoax

Story:

59-year-old Chinese miner Cheung Wai comes out alive after 17 years underground.

Other Versions

1. China Miner Found Alive After 17 Years Underground.

2. Chinese miner found alive after being stranded for 17 year underground.

Analysis:

According to an ‘unbelievable’ message doing rounds online, 59-year-old Chinese miner Cheung Wai was found alive after being trapped underground for 17 years. Although the story went viral and got much attention online, it is not a fact.

Screenshot of related article on World News Daily Report website

Origin of Story

The claims in question originated from an old, 8 May 2014 article on World News Daily Report website worldnewsdailyreport.com that came with the title ‘China: Miner Found Alive After 17 Years Underground‘. According to it, when a group of coal miners from the western province of Xinjiang were excavating a section of an old mine that was abandoned 17 years ago after an earthquake in 1997, they were unbelievably surprised to find the 59-year-old man alive underground. It is said that the Chinese miner was trapped underground in the coal mines during the earthquake, and that he managed to survive for almost 17 years on a stash of rice & water stored in an underground depot, besides eating rats & phosphorescent moss. It is a known fact that China’s coal mines are the world’s most hazardous. According to a report published in the Wall Street Journal website wsj.com, about 1,049 miners were killed in accidents in the year 2013. So some people bought the heartwarming story and went on to circulate it, without digging slightly deeper.

Actual Facts

World News Daily Report website publishes satirical and fictional content as mentioned in their disclaimer information. In Related Stories section you can see many such hoax stories originating from the same website. The picture of the old man that comes with the story is in fact 64 years old Song Mingyuan of east China’s Shandong province, who cries during the memorial service of the war time Chinese forced laborers in Tokyo, back on 9 Aug. 2009.