Three of the seven miners trapped in a flooded coal shaft in east China's Jiangxi Province have been rescued, work safety officials said yesterday.

The flooding occurred at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday at the Gongnong mine in Yudu county when 15 people were working underground. Eight managed to escape and three were rescued on Wednesday morning, the officials with the Jiangxi provincial administration of work safety said.

The four miners still had little chance of survival as the flooded shaft was badly damaged, according to the officials.

Rescuers were still searching on Wednesday evening.

The mine had an annual output of 30,000 tons and employed 40 people.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.