Flash floods have left 21 people dead and 61 others missing in central China's Henan Province, local authorities said on Wednesday.

Continuous torrential rains struck the western part of Henan from Sunday morning till Monday morning and triggered flash floods in three counties, damaging power, irrigation, communications and other facilities, said a spokesman with the provincial flood-prevention authorities.

In Lushi County which was stricken most severely, 18 people were killed and 57 were missing, the spokesman said.

The provincial government has dispatched relief teams to the areas.

Flash floods have also inundated a coal mine in Shanxian County, about 200 kilometers west of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan, on Sunday morning, when 102 miners were working underground. Thirty-three managed to escape.

The other 69 miners who were trapped underground for more than three days were rescued on Wednesday afternoon.

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2007)