Rescuers stopped searching Monday for the 15 miners missing after a mid-December coal mine flood, which took place in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

The decision came with the consent of the victims' relatives and rescue experts. The missing miners are believed dead.

The underground water level continued to increase since snow melted recently, despite the rescuers' pumping efforts, said Chen Xiaohui, deputy director of Guizhou Provincial Administration of Production Safety.

A flood took place on December 12, 2004 at the Tianchi Coal Mine in Sinan County when 80 miners were working underground. Forty-four workers escaped and the remaining 36 were trapped underground.

The coal mine is a legal one with 30,000 tons of annual output.

Source: Xinhua