Rescue efforts resumed yesterday morning to save 29 trapped miners from a flooded iron ore mine in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Rescuers are drilling a hole with a diameter of 30 centimeters to reach the No. 3 shaft, through which they hope to deliver oxygen and food to the trapped miners, who are believed to still have a chance of survival.

Rescuers stopped pumping out water and dredging silt from the No. 2 shaft early on Saturday morning due to a sudden rise in the water level from more water gushing into the tunnel. Fifty-one rescuers were evacuated from the shaft amid safety concerns.

The flood occurred early Wednesday at Haolaigou Iron Ore Mine in Donghe District of Baotou, when 46 miners were changing shifts. Only 11 miners escaped, rescue headquarters said.

Six of the 35 trapped miners were rescued on Thursday and recovering well in Baotou Central Hospital.

In separate operations stemming from mining accidents 11 days ago, rescuers have been forced to abandon efforts to save seven trapped miners from two flooded neighboring coal mines in northeast China's Liaoning Province.

The two mine owners reached an agreement with the relatives of the victims, who will be paid at least 200,000 yuan (US$25,000) each in compensation, a spokesman with the Benxi county government said yesterday.

Rescuers had pumped out 59,000 cubic meters of water in the last 11 days but the water level underground remained high and unchanged.

Officials believed the coal mines, located at the Tianshifu Township of Benxi Autonomous County of Manchu Nationality, are probably connected by a local underground water system containing at least 1.86 million cubic meters of water. It would take about a year to pump out the water at the current maximum speed of 300 cubic meters per hour.

The coal mines are also vulnerable to collapse, posing a risk to rescuers.

The two mines, each with an annual production capacity of 10,000 tons, had been closed earlier this month, but resumed production illegally.