It is reported that two bodies were found in a flooded iron core mine in East China's Shandong Province as rescue work for 24 trapped mine workers has entered the seventh day on Saturday.

The bodies of the two workers were retrieved at midday Saturday at the mine in the Fangzi district of the city of Weifang.

The mine, belonging to Zhengdong Mining Co, was flooded at around 11 PM Sunday when 31 people were working underground. Seven of them managed to escape while the other 24 were trapped inside.

By 9 PM Saturday, rescue efforts for the trapped workers were going on but were hampered by huge mount of sludge and unstable water level inside the pit, according to the rescuers.

The workers were conducting maintenance work in the mine when the accident occurred.

An initial investigation found that an open air stone pit located near the mine became filled with water after several days of heavy rain. The pit collapsed, sending an estimated 20,000 cubic meters of water into the mine.

The mine received a production permit in February 2009, with mining operations scheduled to begin this October.

(Sourced from China Daily)