Flood at Chinese coal mine kills four, leaves 14 trapped
- Incident in Sichuan province happened on Saturday as 347 people were working underground, state television reports
- Seven people died in a gas explosion at the same mine in 2013
Four people were killed and 14 remain trapped after a coal mine in southwest China flooded on Saturday afternoon, state media reported on Sunday.
The incident happened at about 3.30pm local time at a mine in the city of Yibin, Sichuan province, when 347 people were working underground, broadcaster China Central Television said.
As of Sunday morning, 329 people had managed to return to the surface, and 11 teams comprising about 200 people were working to free those still trapped, the report said.
It did not say how the four people had died, but said the flooding had damaged the communication system in some parts of the mine.
Li Wenzhong, the deputy head of the city’s emergency management bureau, said the water level was still rising but at a slower pace thanks to the efforts of the rescuers.