XIN'AN, Henan, Dec. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- The whereabouts of the 42 miners trapped in a colliery flood in Henan Province remained unknown though rescuers have lowered the water level by 20 meters over the past five days, the emergency rescue headquarters said Wednesday.

    By Tuesday night, rescuers had built two more blocks along the 500-meter river bank to prevent river water from flowing into the ill-fated Sigou mine in Shisi town of Xin'an county.

    Rescuers had also pumped more than 20,000 cubic meters of waterout of the mine, said Wang Shuren, a county official. "We've also invited six divers to join in the rescue operation."

    The colliery flood occurred at about 11:40 p.m. on Friday, when76 miners were working in the pit. Only 34 of them escaped.

    Rescuers have drilled two holes leading to the drowned laneway, through which they played music, called out the missing miners' names and fed a microphone down into the pit, but there has been no feedback.

    Sigou colliery is privately owned and unlicensed. Its designed annual output is 60,000 tons. Enditem