ZUOYUN, Shanxi Province, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Rescue teams have pumped out up to 106,516 cubic meters of water from the flooded pit in North China's Shanxi Province by 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, said the rescue headquarters.

    The efforts have help to lower the water level by 4.57 meters as rescue experts estimated a total of 200,000 cubic meters of water flooded the pit.

    Rescue operation continues Tuesday, 13 days after the coal mine flooding in Xinjing Coal Mine in Zuoyun County that trapped 56 miners, despite earlier rescue officials' admission that chances of finding the trapped miners alive were very slim.

    Six water pumps were busy working and three pumps were in repair, said the headquarters.

    The deadly flooding occurred at 8.30 p.m. on May 18 when 266 miners were working underground. A total of 210 miners managed to escape.

    Local safety authorities had tried to cover up the deadly accident by reporting that five miners were trapped.

    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.

    Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, has lashed out at over-production, a major cause of the accident. The mine had a license to produce 90,000 tons a year, but it produced 130,000 tons from March 2 to May 18.

    So far, 19 people, including the mine's owner and labor contractors, have been detained by police.

    Zhang Mingsheng, head of Zuoyun County, and Shi Lu, deputy head of Zuoyun County who is in charge of coal mining, were removed from their posts last Saturday.

    Three officials of Zhangjiachang Town, where the mine is located, including Party Secretary Chang Rui and township head Liu Yongxin, have also been suspended from their posts. Enditem