BEIJING, China (AP) -- Rescuers were using water pumps in an effort to reach 102 miners who were trapped underground in a coal mine flood Sunday in southern China, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The accident occurred at 1:30 p.m. Sunday (5:30 a.m. GMT) in a tunnel 420 meters (1,378 feet) underground at the privately owned Daxing Colliery in Wanghuai Town of Meizhou City in Guangdong province, Xinhua said, citing a local official.
There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.
Rescuers were drawing water out of the mine with pumps, said Xinhua, citing a city government official at the scene.
A previous report put the number of trapped miners at 103, but the official told Xinhua that it was a miscount and revised the figure to 102.
Shortly after the accident, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao ordered the local government and other agencies to "take substantial steps and spare no efforts" to save the trapped miners, Xinhua reported.
An investigation into the cause of the accident was under way and local government officials ordered coal mines in the city to suspend operations for a safety examination, Xinhua said.
China suffers more than 5,000 deaths a year in floods, fires and other disasters in coal mines despite repeated government promises to tighten enforcement of safety standards.