BEIJING (Reuters) – Eight miners have been rescued and 21 remain trapped in a coal mine that flooded the northwestern Xinjiang region of China, China’s Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, citing a local emergency department.
Part of the mine flooded, leading to power outages on Saturday after 18:00 (1000 GMT), when 29 miners were working at the mine in Hutubi County, Xinjiang, the report said.
In a separate report, the state-run Global Times reported that 12 of the trapped miners were located in the mine on Sunday and are expected to be rescued, while nine other workers were not found.
Chinese mines are among the deadliest in the world.
Ten gold miners were confirmed dead in January following an explosion at a mine in China’s coastal province of Shandong.
In December, 23 people were killed after being trapped in a mine in the southwestern city of Chongqing. Three months earlier, 16 people had died in a separate coal mine in the same area.
State media said on Sunday that rescue efforts in the Xinjiang mine are underway.
Report by Cate Cadell to Beijing and Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong