The accident happened at 11 AM (local time) in Weiyuan County of Neijiang City.

Altogether 41 miners were working underground when a pit of Batian Coal Mine was flooded. Thirteen of them escaped, said Lin Shucheng, chief of the provincial work safety bureau.

He said rescuers had begun pumping flood water from the pit early in the afternoon. "We have sent four trucks of pumping equipment from Chengdu to help the rescue work".

Lin said the Batian Coal Mine had undergone a renovation to increase its annual output to 60,000 tonnes from the designed 50,000 tonnes. But all its operation was legal. Its business license and production permits are valid.