GUIYANG - Rescue efforts for 23 miners who were trapped in a flooded coal mine in Southwest China have entered the ninth day, yet no signs of life have been detected and the chance for the miners to survive was slim, said a rescue official on Sunday.

The accident happened at 9:30 am on July 2 at Niupeng Mine in Pingtang county of Guizhou province.

Chen Xiaohui, deputy commander of the emergency rescue headquarters, said the miners were at the bottom of the pit when the mine was flooded, and there was no room for them to escape.

Chen, also deputy director of the Guizhou Administration of Work Safety, said water pumping capacity was lifted to about 2,400 cubic meters per hour, but the water level in the pit only dropped slowly while sometimes it ascended.

Chen said rescuers have pumped 210,000 cubic meters of water out of the mine.

Also on Sunday, two miners were pulled out alive more than 180 hours after being trapped in a collapsed coal mine in Southwest Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

A total of 71 miners were working underground when the accident occurred on July 2. Forty nine miners managed to escape and rescuers have retrieved bodies of eight miners.

Rescue works are still going on for 12 other miners that remain trapped underground.