Ten miners remained missing since Wednesday's flooding that engulfed an illegal coal mine in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the regional workplace safety administration said Friday.

Rescuers have been searching for the victims who include nine men and a woman.

The administration said the mine owner, who has fled after the accident and is being traced by the police, hired dozens of workers for illegal operation in the coal mine near a river in Pingyang town, Xingbin district of Laibin city. River water flooded into the tunnel at around 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, following a roof collapse caused by underground explosion. The ten miners who were working at that time were all trapped.

Source: Xinhua