Twelve miners are still trapped in a coal pit in northwest China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after the pit was flooded Thursday afternoon, local government sources said on Friday.

The flooding was led by a sudden rainstorm occurred at the Jinli Coal Mine of Junggar Banner at 3:30 PM Thursday, when 12 miners were working underground.

Rescuers raced to the spot with pumps, power generators, sandbags, ambulances, etc.

As of 4:30 AM Friday, 20,000 cubic meters of water have been pumped out, and the water in the shaft has been lowered by 150 meters.

But too much sullage retarded the rescue operation, which is still underway at press time.

The mine, a private business, produces 300,000 tons of coal annually. It is carrying out technological upgrading to raise its annual output to 450,000 tons per year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2006)