Rescuers are still struggling to locate 11 trapped workers in a flooded coal mine in north China's Shanxi Province.

The water level has dropped by 30 meters in the colliery after a draining operation and workers are clearing stone and mud debris.

However, forecast rainfall and a 100-square-meter cave-in area in the pit, which is prone to flooding, pose great challenges to the rescue operation, according to the rescue headquarters.

A flash flood swamped the Makulue colliery in Xingxian County after a 30-minute rainstorm in which 45 millimeters of rain hit the area on Sunday evening.

The flood trapped nine miners working about 500 meters underground and another two workers who had entered the shaft to tell the miners to evacuate.

It is still unclear whether the 11 trapped people are alive, said an official with the rescue headquarters.

The Makulue colliery is a licensed one with an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons.

(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2007)