More than 1,000 rescuers fought against the clock at a Chinese coal mine today where 153 workers were trapped by flooding in what could be one of the worst disasters to hit the deadly industry in recent years.
Anxious families at the Wangjialing mine in northern Shanxi province struggled to keep up hope as high water levels stymied pumping efforts.
?I have been here for two or three days and I haven't seen them taking any action, only a little water was pumped out today," Xiao Shihong, a mother of four whose husband and two brothers-in-law are all trapped in the mine, said today.
"Now it is the third day, but we still don't know anything."
Some 108 men were lifted to safety on Sunday when water surged into the pit that was under construction.
It is likely the construction workers inadvertently broke through into a disused pit that was full of water, Chinese media said.
Reuters