Rescuers on Saturday recovered the bodies of the five workers trapped in a flooded gold mine in Liaoning Province after a five-day search, the rescue headquarters said.

The bodies were found at 2:25 a.m. in a shaft about 550 meters underground, and had been taken to a funeral home, said Ning Jingmin, head of the headquarters.

Rescuers have pumped 7,880 cubic meters of water from the shaft at Pingfang Gold Mine, since it flooded on early on Monday.

Seven miners were working in the tunnel at the time and two escaped.

An initial investigation by Liaoning Gold Administration showed the flooding occurred when workers accidentally dug through an adjacent discarded pit full of water.

The mine, in Beipiao City, is licensed and employs 300 people. The flooded shaft was under construction prior to production.

Ning, also vice head of the work safety supervision administration of Chaoyang City, which administers Beipiao, said the administration was investigating the accident and helping with the compensation for the victims' families.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2009)