9 rescued, 16 still trapped in flooded China mine

A miner (C) is rescued from a flooded coal mine of privately-owned Anzhishun Coal Mine in Jixi, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, Aug 15, 2014. Nine people have been rescued and 16 remained trapped in the flooded coal mine.[Photo/Xinhua]

JIXI, Heilongjiang - Nine people have been rescued and 16 remained trapped in a flooded coal mine in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, rescuers said Friday.

The privately-owned Anzhishun Coal Mine previously reported that nine people were trapped following the flooding at 1:10 pm Thursday, but investigators later confirmed that 56 workers were down the shaft when the accident happened, and 33 of them were lifted to the ground, according to the public security bureau of Jixi.

Rescuers are installing pumps to drain the flooded shaft.

The mine's owner has been placed under police custody.