A miner is carried to the surface at a coalmine in Yima, Central China's Henan province, Nov 5, 2011, after a rock burst happened on Friday. Eight workers have been confirmed dead and 45 trapped miners have been found alive. As of 8:20 am on Nov 5, 37 trapped miners had been safely lifted to the surface.[Photo/Xinhua]

SANMENXIA, Henan - Rescuers pulled out the last of the 45 surviving miners who were trapped for 40 hours following a rock burst that hit a central Chinese coal mine, leaving eight workers dead.

The last worker was seen waving his hands to the rescue team and journalists at 11:46 a.m. as he walked out of the Qianqiu Coal Mine with the support of other rescuers.

A rock burst occurred in the Qianqiu Coal Mine in the city of Sanmenxia, Henan province, following a 2.9-magnitude earthquake on Thursday evening.

Of the 75 miners working in the shaft when the accident happened, 14 managed to escape and four were confirmed dead soon after accident. The remaining 57 workers were stranded in the mine.

Rescuers rescued eight workers as of Friday and found four bodies while searching for the trapped Saturday morning, bringing the total death toll to eight.

The coal mine, with an annual production capacity of 2.1 million tonnes, belongs to Yima Coal Group, a major state-owned coal enterprise in Henan.