Related: 44 miners might be trapped in coal mine flooding in north China

Rescuers carry a drainpipe to the Xinjing Coal Mine in Zuoyun County of north China's Shanxi Province late May 20. (Xinhua Photo)

    ZUOYUN, Shanxi, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, calls on Sunday for quickening efforts to rescue the miners trapped in a flooded pit in north China's Shanxi Province.

    The accident occurred at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Xinjing Coal Mine in Zuoyun County, northern Shanxi, when a total of 145 miners were working underground. One hundred and one miners managed to escape, rescuers said.

    Li, Shanxi Party secretary Zhang Baoshun and governor Yu Youjun, have arrived at the flooded coal mine to coordinate the rescue efforts.

    Li called for more pumping facilities be sent to speed up pumping water from the flooded pit, hoping to increase the chance of survival for the trapped miners.

    Six bigger pumps have been installed and more pumps will be installed later on Sunday to quicken the rescue operation, said head of the rescue team.

Rescuers have a rest outside the Xinjing Coal Mine in Zuoyun County of north China's Shanxi Province late May 20. (Xinhua Photo)

    Li also ordered that the exact number of miners who got trappedin the flooded colliery be verified. Local safety authorities had tried to cover up the deadly accident by reporting earlier that only five miners were trapped.

    Miners who survived the flooding confirmed that more than five miners were working underground when the accident happened.

    Nine managerial persons of the coal mine have been detained by the police. However, the head of the coal mine has gone into hiding.

    Some managerial staff of the coal mine had rented taxis to transfer family members of the trapped miners to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shanxi's close neighbor, to prevent them from rioting and speaking to the press, the miners said.

    Xinjing Coal Mine is a legal township coal producing entity with an annual production capacity of 90,000 tons.

    The rescue operation is still going on and investigation into the cause of the accident is underway. Enditem