Five miners were still trapped in a flooded coal mine in Longxipu Town in Xinshao County in central China's Hunan Province, the local government said Wednesday.

Rescuers still have to drain water from the tunnel for about nine hours before they could enter the tunnel, according to local rescue headquarters.

The accident occurred at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday in Tangbian Coal Mine and some miners fled from the disaster, but five local miners were trapped.

The water level underground has been reduced by 13 meters and rescuers estimated the trapped miners would have about 15 cubic meters of space in the worst situation and that they have a "great chance" to survive. Enditem