A news report about a man found alive in Xinjiang, China after 17 years of being trapped in a coal mine, which was widely circulated online on 8 May, turned out to be a hoax.

According to the International Business Times, a group of coal miners in Xinjiang found 59-year-old Cheung Wai, who survived the coal mine accident in 1997. He was reportedly trapped with the dead bodies of his 78 co-workers.

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World News Daily said the man had been trapped underground after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the area, causing the mine to collapse. The story went on to say that Cheung was lucky to have access to a functional ventilation duct connected to the surface.

The report also said Cheung got through the 17 years with the help of an emergency rice and water stash. He also reportedly ate rats and phosphorescent moss to sustain his health but was already in a "bad shape" by the time he was found.

The story went on to say Cheung was taken to a medical institution to undergo physical and mental evaluations for the next few weeks.

Although some had doubted the credibility of the published news, there were still thousands who believed it and even circulated it on social media.

However, the readers failed to read World News Daily's disclaimer that says all of the stories in the website are fictional or "presumably fake." Resemblance to true situations is considered purely coincidental.

According to Epoch Times, this story also did not have mainstream media coverage.

China's coal industry is the deadliest in the world, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

In 2013, the WSJ recorded 1,049 deaths among miners in accidents. This number is already down from the previous 2,000 yearly deaths recorded a few years back.

In the last decade, the coal mines in China have taken over 33,000 lives, based on data from the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety. Just last month, 26 miners died in an explosion that caused a mine in the Yunnan Province to be flooded.

TagsHoax, Chinese Miner revival for 17 years, cheung wai, coal mine accident xinjiang