Rescuers worry about the fate of 42 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine in central China's Henan Province. Only 34 miners escaped the private coal mine when water began pouring in around midnight Friday. The mine's management fled the scene.—Xinhua

Rescuers raced against time to save 42 miners trapped in a flooded colliery in central China's Henan Province last night.
Eight pumps were running at full speed to drain some 3,000 cubic meters of water that flooded the mine tunnels shortly before midnight Friday, said Li Zhenhuan of the Henan Provincial Bureau of Coal Industry.
The latest in a series of underground tragedies took place at the Sigou Coal Mine in Xin'an County, about 150 kilometers west of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province.
Seventy-six miners were below ground at the time of the flooding, and 34 were able to escape from the privately-run mine.
A spokesman for Xin'an County government said the coal mine's managerial staff, including mine owner Jin Changsong, went into hiding shortly after the accident.
The Sigou colliery is capable of producing 60,000 tons of coal annually. But it has not obtained a work-safety license, officials said.
An investigation is under way to determine the cause of the flooding.
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday ordered Henan's provincial government to spare no efforts to save the trapped miners and arrest the fugitive mine managers.
A 14-member work team arrived on Saturday afternoon in Xin'an County to coordinate the rescue operation and disaster relief work.
The team is headed by Liang Jiakun, vice director of the State Administration of Work Safety, and Wang Shuhe, vice director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety Supervision.
Liang urged the local government to develop a complete rescue plan that guarantees the safety of the rescuers.
He said the local government must deal with the disaster's aftermath, including compensation, as quickly as possible.
Late last night, more than 200 rescuers were involved in the search for the missing miners.
The flooding came as rescuers were still shifting through the debris of a November 27 blast in China's northeast that killed at least 169 workers.
The death toll from the explosion stood at 169 yesterday, with two miners still missing - making it one of the China's deadliest mine disasters.
The blast at the Dongfeng Coal Mine in Heilongjiang Province occurred when airborne coal dust caught fire.
The families of the dead miners were each to receive 220,000 yuan (US$27,000) in compensation. They were also to receive 1,000 yuan in grain, cooking oil, meat, eggs and other food aid for "condolence and comfort."
Heilongjiang Vice Governor Liu Haisheng said on Saturday that the provincial government will close 200 small coal mines for safety problems by the end of this year.
See more mine closure on A3
(Xinhua)