Rescuers to enter flooded mine in N China

XIANGNING, Shanxi, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers had gathered around a flooded mine's entrance in north China's Shanxi Province to start the search for 153 trapped miners, rescue headquarters said Saturday.

Rescuers had gathered around a flooded mine's entrance in north China's Shanxi Province to start the search for 153 trapped miners, rescue headquarters said Saturday.

Ten teams of 283 rescuers were ready to enter the flooded shaft at the Wangjialing Coal Mine in Xiangning County with boats and other floatation devices, said a spokesman with the headquarters.

A total of 158 ambulances, one for each trapped miner, were standing by on site with medical experts to ensure immediate treatment once the trapped miners were rescued, he added.

Water level in the mine had dropped by 5.3 meters since the flooding happened a week ago. Rescuers were draining 1,953 cubic meters of water per hour, he said.

Rescuers said they heard the trapped miners banging on a metal pipe at 2:15 p.m. Friday.

An iron wire was found attached at the end of a drill pipe, which was used to pump out water and send down food, when it was lifted to the surface at 3 p.m..

Pan Zengwu, deputy chief of the Shanxi provincial coal geological bureau, said this was apparently tied on by the trapped miners.

The flooding happened at about 1:40 p.m. Sunday when underground water gushed into the pit of the mine, which was under construction. Altogether 261 miners were working underground at the time, of whom 108 were lifted safely to the surface.

If the trapped workers cannot be saved, the accident will be China's worst mining disaster in more than two years. In August 2007, a total of 181 workers died at two flooded coal mines neighboring each other -- 172 at one mine -- in Xintai, eastern Shandong Province.