Six miners were pulled out of a flooded coal mine in central China's Henan Province on Sunday, but 18 others remain trapped underground, rescuers said.

Two miners are rescued from a flooded coal mine in Yuzhou city of central China's Henan province on September 7, 2008. [Xinhua]

Rescuers said 62 miners were doing maintenance work when the flood happened at about 5:45 a.m. at the Renhe (Fushun) Coal Mine in Changzhuang Township, Yuzhou City, and 38 managed to escape.

"The six who were rescued were not seriously injured. They were sent to a local hospital for observation," a spokesman with the rescue headquarters said.

More than 40 rescuers were sent to the scene and six pumps have been dispatched to pump out water and clear away the silt. A fan is also being used to provide ventilation for the trapped workers.

About 300 cubic meters of water swamped the pit when the workers were digging in the mine's waste area, rescuers said.

The Renhe Coal Mine was formerly a private business known as Fushun Coal Mine with an annual capacity of 150,000 tons. In 2005, it was incorporated into the stated-owned Hebi Coal Industry (Group) Co. Ltd. based in Henan's Hebi City.

The mine has been undergoing a technological upgrade.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2008)