Rescuers are trying to save the 17 miners left stranded underground after a coal mine was flooded in Heye Township of Guiyang County, in central China's Hunan Province at 7:50 PM Friday, said an official in charge of the provincial coal mine safety supervision.

By 9:30 AM Saturday, the number of the trapped miners was initially confirmed at 17, the official said, adding that the flooding of the coal mine was caused by heavy rain pouring into the inclined shaft of the mine Friday.

Rescue team headed by the director of the provincial coal mine safety supervision administration has rushed to the accident site. But due to the complex situation underground in the mine, they could not know whether the missing miners were still alive by the press time.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2005)