Hopes fade for 100 miners trapped in China mine

Hundreds of rescuers were scrambling to save the miners but their progress was severely hampered by the depth of the water, a local official said. He described their chances of survival as "slim".

The accident happened Sunday at the Daxing Coal Mine 265km northeast of the Guangdong provincial capital Guangzhou.

It was unclear how many people were working underground at the time but four miners escaped from the privately-run mine, Xinhua news agency said.

"They are still trying to pump the water out but there is still a large amount of water underground," the official in Huanghuai township near Xining city, who refused to give his name, told AFP.