Rescuers have retrieved the bodies of 12 colliery workers who died in last week's coal mine flood in northeast China's Jilin Province, authorities said Monday.

Rescuers are drining flood water from the shaft of the Fengxing Coal Mine in northeast China's Jilin Province on April 8, 2012. [Chinanews.com]

Eight bodies were retrieved from the pit of the Fengxing Coal Mine in the city of Jiaohe early on Monday, 10 days after the accident, the local work safety bureau said in a press release.

The statement said that at least 20,000 cubic meters of water poured into the shaft on April 6. Of the 70 people working in the pit, 58 escaped.

Rescuers spent about a week draining flood water from the shaft before they were able to reach the first four trapped miners, all of whom were found dead, on April 13.

Fengxing was a licensed, privately-run mine.

Investigators said the flood water came from a neighboring state-owned colliery.

In another recent mining tragedy, five miners were killed and four remained trapped in a flooded colliery pit in central China's Henan Province.

The flooding in the city of Pingdingshan was reported Saturday afternoon, and rescue work continued on Monday.

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