 There is no indication that the trapped miners are still alive |
The owner and several managers of a Chinese coal mine where 42 miners are trapped by flooding have disappeared, the state news agency reports. Rescue workers are trying to pump thousands of cubic metres of water out of the mine in central Henan province where the accident happened on Friday.
It is believed that the owner was operating without a safety licence.
Separately, the last of 171 bodies of people killed in an explosion at a coal mine in Heilongjiang has been found.
Correspondents say the Chinese mining industry is the most dangerous in the world as increasing demand for energy puts pressure on the sector.
The government has been conducting campaigns for greater safety.
Cause unknown
Police in Henan issued a call for the arrest of Jin Changsong, owner of the Sigou Coal Mine, after Friday's accident in which 34 miners managed to escape.
 | CHINA'S WORST MINE DISASTERS Feb 1950: Yiluo mine, Henan province - 174 dead May 1960: Laobaidong mine, Shanxi province - 684 dead Sept 2000: Muchonggou mine, Guizhou province - 162 dead Nov 2004: Chenjiashan mine, Shaanxi province - 166 dead Feb 2005: Sunjiawan mine, Liaoning province - 210 dead Nov 2005: Dongfeng mine, Heilongjiang - 171 dead |
He and several of his managers have gone missing, Xinhua reports.
Local officials have not said what triggered the flood.
The Henan accident came less than a week after the blast at the Dongfeng Coal Mine in Heilongjiang province.
At least two officials connected with that mine have been arrested.
Chinese officials say some 6,000 miners died last year but non-government groups say the true figure is far higher.
This year, 3,000 deaths have been reported in the country's mines.
One-Minute World News 
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