9 dead in NE China colliery flood

HEGANG, Heilongjiang - Nine people were confirmed dead and five others remained trapped following a coal mine flood in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, rescuers said early on Thursday.

The accident happened at 7 am Wednesday in a shaft of the Junyuan No 2 Coal Mine in Xing'an district of the resource-rich Hegang city, the emergency rescue headquarters said.

It said 28 miners were working in the pit when flood water drowned the shaft. By 11 pm, 14 of them had been saved, an official with the local safety administration said.

More than 80 rescuers are working all-out to search for the five trapped miners.

The coal mine is licensed, according to the Hegang city government.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.