SHIJIAZHUANG, Nov. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Rescue operation in a flooded coal mine in Wu'an City, north China's Hebei Province, where 18 miners, instead of 17 reported previously as a result of miscalculation, have been trapped since Thursday, has slowed down because three coal mine leaders and technicians went into hiding.

    Information from the headquarters in charge of rescue operation in Gaocun Coal Mine in Shangtuancheng Township, Wu'an City, said as three leaders of the coal miners and technical workers all were on fugitive, nobody knows what the situation was in the shaft, so rescuers were slow to get the pumping equipment installed.

    The headquarters could only rely on memories of some miners to draft a plan for rescue efforts in the shaft, said an official with the headquarters, who said the coalmine, with a maximum voltage of 380 volt, could not accommodate big-power water pumps.

    However, chance of survival still exist for the 18 trapped miners as the water level in the coalmine's underground laneway drop by 200 meters.

    At around 10 a.m. Thursday, Gaocun Coal Mine at Shangtuancheng Township of Wu'an City was flooded while 27 miners were working underground. Only nine of them managed to escape the flooded site.

    The coalmine, whose laneway extends 420 meters long, is a legal one with all necessary certified documents for mining, the city source said.

    A manhunt for leaders of the coal mine is underway, according to local police. Enditem