Central China coal mine flood traps 6

WUHAN - Rescuers are battling to save six coal miners trapped after a flood in a mine in central China's Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Hubei Province.

The accident took place at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday in a coal mine of Yesanguan Mining Company in Badong County. Five of the six trapped workers are villagers of Yesanguan Township, the other is from Huangshi City, local authorities said on Thursday.

In July, China's work safety watchdog vowed to close over 1,700 accident-prone small coal mines in a bid to enhance safety and reduce casualties.

Yang Dongliang, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, said collieries with an annual capacity under 90,000 tonnes will be shut down in 50 coal-rich counties in 12 provincial-level regions.

But he did not give a specific timetable of the shutdown.

In the first half of 2014, 51 coal mine accidents in these counties killed 122 people. Small collieries in China usually have outdated safety-control measures and are vulnerable to flooding or gas explosions.