23 confirmed trapped in SW China flooded colliery

Xinhua, July 3, 2011

Rescuers are seen at the entrance to a collapsed coal mine in Pingtang of southwest China's Guizhou province on July 2, 2011. [Xinhua]

Flood waters continued to pour into a coal mine in southwest China's Guizhou Province Sunday following Saturday's flood that trapped 23 workers underground.

The accident happened at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Niupeng Mine in Pingtang County of the Bouyei-Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Qiannan.

Shortly after the accident, mine authorities confirmed 21 workers were trapped. But two others were found missing Sunday and were believed to have entered the pit.

The emergency rescue headquarters said the underground water level still kept rising by midday Sunday.

Rescuers worked through the night to pump water from the pit. By 9 a.m. Sunday, 23,000 cubic meters of flood water had been drained, said Wang Jinzhong, an official from State Administration of Work Safety.

He said four more pumps were being installed, hoping to speed up draining to 1,650 cubic meters an hour from the current 1,300 cubic meters.

The majority of the trapped miners are from the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Family members began arriving Sunday morning to wait for news.

The local government has mobilized 500 people to receive and console the grieved family members.

Saturday saw a coal mine disaster in Guangxi, where three were confirmed dead and 19 remained stranded following a cave-in.

Rescuers are still digging into the shaft Sunday, hoping to reach the missing workers.

But high levels of explosive gas and siltage in the shaft hindered rescue efforts and little progress was reported.