2 dead, 9 missing in flooded Shaanxi mine

XI'AN - Rescuers have found two miners' bodies in a flooded colliery in Shaanxi Province, but nine remain missing more than 75 hours after the flood.

The first body was retrieved from the Zhaojin coal mine in the city of Tongchuan at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and the second was found at around 5 a.m. on Thursday, said an official with the emergency rescue headquarters.

As of 4 a.m. on Thursday, rescuers had pumped out all the flood water, about 21,000 cubic meters, and were clearing sludge from the shaft to search for the missing.

The mine flooded at 8 a.m. on Monday, when 67 miners were underground. Fifty-six of them managed to escape.

The cause of the flood is still not known.