20 miners trapped by floods in China

BEIJING, June 19 (UPI) -- Rescue workers were trying Friday to reach miners trapped in two flooded coal mines in China, officials said.

One mine in Guizhou Province in Southwest China flooded Wednesday morning, Xinhua, the official government news agency, reported Friday. The number of people reported in the mine was raised to 16 Friday when officials learned one man did not sign in before going down the mine.

Ma Lian, a mine safety engineer with the provincial government, said the owner of the mine in Qinglong County decided to expand production 500 percent but did not invest enough in safety infrastructure.

"The mine sap is narrow, and the mining facilities are outdated, which also caused difficulties for rescuers to bring machinery into the mine to aid the rescue," he said.

In Shanxi Province in the north, four miners were trapped in a mine in Linfen. Five of the men working in the mine escaped when water began pouring in to the Xiguo Xinxing Mine.

Officials said pumping the mine out would take at least 12 hours.