Rescuers have retrieved two bodies from a flooded coal mine in north China's Shanxi Province, but two other workers are still trapped underground, local authorities said Monday.

The flooding occurred at about 4:30 PM Friday in a coal pit run by the Lingshi Coal Mine Co., Ltd. in Lingshi County when six miners were working underground. Two managed to escape.

Currently, 260 rescuers are struggling to pump out the water and trying to reach the trapped workers, and 12 pumps have been used, said Wang Shiqiang, deputy director of the rescue headquarters.

"But the underground geological condition is very complicated, and water constantly pours into the flooded tunnel from neighboring areas, which add difficulty to the rescue work," he said.

Investigation into the cause of the flooding was under way.

The ill-fated mine is undergoing output upgrading since August of last year to raise its annual production capacity to 900,000 tonnes.

(Xinhua News Agency January 19, 2010)