(XINHUA)

Rescuers commenced efforts to save at least 153 workers trapped in a flooded coal mine in north China's Shanxi Province on March 31.

Local authorities said a total of 261 workers were in the pit of the Wangjialing Coal Mine when it was flooded on March 29. Of them, 108 workers have been evacuated safely. But official newspaper China Daily quoted local workers as saying that more people could still be trapped inside. On April 2, Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, who had rushed to the site earlier to monitor rescue efforts, was reported to have urged rescue headquarters to publicly release a list of the names of the trapped workers.

The mine, which straddles Xiangning County, and is affiliated with the state-owned Huajin Coking Coal Co. Ltd., is a major project approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, and is currently still under construction. It is expected to produce 6 million tonnes of coal annually once it becomes operational.

More than 1,500 people are participating in the rescue operation, but as yet no contact has been established with the trapped workers.