7 trapped in coal mine flooding in east China

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING (AA) - Seven miners remain trapped after a coal mine flooded in eastern China.

Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday that 21 miners were working underground when the flooding occurred shortly before midnight in Yichun city in Jiangxi province.

As of 8.00 a.m. (0000GMT), teams had rescued 14 of them.

The rescue efforts -- in which teams are installing pumping equipment -- have been joined by medical personnel and local officials.

Chinese mines are among some of the most dangerous in the world due to lax regulations and poor operating procedures.

In recent years, the country has produced more than one-third of the world's annual coal output, but accounted for more than two-thirds of global mining deaths annually, according to the Mining Technology journal.

An explosion at a coal mine in southwest Chongqing Municipality last month left 33 people dead.

In March, 19 people died after a coal mine collapsed in northern China while 129 workers were working underground.