BEIJING, Aug. 15 -- Heavy rain has led to increased difficulties for rescuers trying to find 122 miners still trapped in the flooded Daxing Coal Mine in Xingning, Guangdong Province.

    The rain swept across the accident area over the weekend, causing rescuers and experts to suspend their attempts to find the exact spot where water has been rushing into the mine.

    There is now almost no hope of finding the trapped miners alive.

    Measures against the tropical storm Sanvu, which hit eastern Guangdong Province on Saturday, were also taken in the mine area.

    "We still don't know where the water is coming from, and if the rain continues we might have to prevent further disasters," Li Chong, an official from the local government, told China Daily yesterday.

    As a result, the rescue operation that has been going on for more than eight days has made little progress, Li said.

    The water level in the tunnel slightly dropped after another large water pump began working on Saturday.

    However, it increased slightly yesterday after heavy rain swept across the accident area, according to Li.

    "Rescuers have no new information about the 122 missing miners," Li said. The flooding trapped a total of 123 miners. Only one body has so far been recovered.

    A violation of safety production rules has been identified as the main cause of the accident.

    The local government announced yesterday that a special fund of about 1.8 million yuan (US$222,000) will be earmarked for miners who work in the Daxing Coal Mine.

    "The money will mainly be allocated to miners, including those trapped, to pay their salaries and for work safety insurance fees," said Li.

    However, Li said the final compensation for the trapped miners has not been decided as the main job at the moment was to "try everything to save them."

    Local police have started collecting DNA samples from the families of the trapped men, according to Li.

    "It has been done in preparation to identify the 'bodies' of miners if they are found," said Li.

    Experts said hopes of finding any survivors among the 122 missing miners was almost zero after more than eight days underground in the mineshaft.

    (Source: China Daily)