Mental treatment for surviving miners

Workers surviving the deadly mine explosion in Heilongjiang province are now listed in stable condition. But the mental trauma from the tragedy could remain for years. Yuan Xiaoyuan discovers how local medical staff is helping survivors get out of the darkness in their mind.

From the darkness in the mine, they have not seen daylight.

These miners survived a blast last Sunday, and are still suffering from panic and horror.

A psychiatric hospital in Hegang city is healing the miners, who are mentally fragile.

Wang Shiming, director of Hegang PsychiatricHospital, said, "We received a patient days ago, who is still in a panic. He always cries when he hears anything that triggers an image from that scene underground."

To make sure patients improve their mental condition, medical workers avoid using any words that may remind patients of the accident. They are joined by four psychiatric experts from the province to treat the miners' psychological problems. Other hospitals receiving miners are training doctors and nurses to provide mental guidance to the patients, hoping to help them fully recover.