Two officials have been sacked from their posts after a flood in a colliery trapped 24 workers in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province Saturday.

Rescuers work at the scene where a colliery flood trapped 24 workers in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, August 1, 2010.

The accident happened at around 1:30 pm Saturday at Hengxinyuan Coal Mine in Hengshan district, Jixi city.

Fang Dongchu, director of the Jixi Municipal Coal Mine Safety Bureau, said Qin Xuyuan, a deputy head in Hengshan in charge of work safety, and Zhang Yidong, director of the district's coal mining bureau, have been sacked for dereliction of duty.

The managers of the Hengxinyuan mine are in police custody, Fang added.

Rescuers are racing against time to reach the 24 trapped miners.

In another deadly mine accident, an explosion at a coal mine in Linfen city in North China's Shanxi province early Saturday killed 17 and left 104 injured.