11 trapped in flooded colliery in SW China

GUIYANG - Rescuers are rushing to pump water out of a flooded coal mine in Southwest China's Guizhou province where 11 miners have been trapped for over 10 hours since Thursday morning, local authorities said.

A total of 22 people were working underground when the flooding occurred at about 10:30 am in the Xinsheng Coal Mine in Yanhe county, sources with the local government confirmed late Thursday.

Rescuers work to pump water out of the flooded Xinsheng Coal Mine to rescue the 11 trapped miners, Yanhe county of Guizhou province, April 26, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

Eleven miners managed to escape, but another 11 have remained trapped since the flooding.

Over 200 rescuers are fighting the clock to find the missing workers.

The mine in Qiaojia township, which is 37 kilometers from Yanhe's county seat, has a designed annual capacity of 90,000 tonnes.

An investigation into the cause of the flooding is underway.