From correspondents in Asia Pacific, 02:03 PM IST

Seventeen miners were trapped in a coal mine after it got flooded in Meikou city of the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin, authorities said Saturday.

The accident occurred at about 1.55 p.m. Friday and the rescue work is on under the supervision of Wang Shuhe, deputy director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, a Xinhua news agency report quoted authorities as saying.

Rescuers said the water and mud inside the mine is rendering the rescue efforts difficult.

The mine was run by the Zhonghe township with an annual output of 60,000 tonnes.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)