Ten miners have been confirmed dead after a coal mine was flooded early on Tuesday morning in north China's Shanxi Province, local authorities reported on Thursday.

The accident occurred at an illegal mine in Wangfeng Township, Wanbailin District of Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi Province, said a spokesman with the Taiyuan Municipal Bureau of Work Safety, rescuers have discovered all of the bodies.

The mine owner has run away and police are still searching for him, he said. He did not reveal the cause of the accident but said that local authorities are discussing compensation for the victims' families.

(Xinhua News Agency November 10, 2006)