Six miners trapped in a flooded bleaching clay mine in east China's Zhejiang Province were confirmed dead on Thursday, a local government official said.

The flooding occurred at about 3:00 PM on Wednesday in Yuhang District of the provincial capital, Hangzhou, when 16 miners were working underground. Rescuers had brought 10 of them to safety, said a spokesman with the Yuhang district government.

The rescued miners were being treated in hospital.

Sources said the accident was possibly due to the safety loopholes of the mine's operating procedures.

All the pit mines in the city were ordered to suspend operations pending safety inspections after the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2008)