Eight miners were trapped down a manganese mine in southwest China's Guizhou Province Sunday after rain-triggered landslides blocked the entrance to the mine.

Heavy rains washed 2,000 cubic meters of mud and rock down mountains in Songtao County, Tongren Prefecture, near the mine early Sunday.

By 4:00 AM, the debris had barricaded the only passage leading into and out of the mine, stranding the eight miners who were working in the mine, said Wang Qimin, head of the county's work safety inspection bureau.

Wang said the miners were not in immediate danger and had talked with rescuers by telephone.

More than 100 rescuers equipped with two excavators were working to clear the passage.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2010)