NANNING -- Efforts to rescue 10 miners that have been trapped underground for 23 days in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were called off Monday as the men are believed dead, rescuers said.

On July 2, a mine operated by Guangxi Heshan Coal Mining Company in the city of Laibin, collapsed after days of heavy rain, trapping 22. Another 49 miners managed to escape.

Two miners were rescued 188 hours after the collapse and 10 bodies have been retrieved, the rescue headquarters said in a statement.

The 10 still trapped "had no chance of survival," according to the statement.

Rescuers had checked all the shafts but a 1,139-meter-deep one 23 days after the accident. A panel of experts believed there was no space for survival in the unchecked shaft that was filled with sand, coal, water and mining facilities. Also, it would take 100 to 150 days to clear the shaft.