The water level had dropped 0.7 meters by 8am yesterday after progress was made clearing silt from the pit. Rescuers had to deal with about 4,000 cubic meters of floodwater that poured into the shaft during the accident, apparently from a nearby river.

More silt will be removed from the shaft using conveyer belts.

The flooding occurred about 8:30am on Sunday at the Zhijian Coal Mine in Shaanxian County, about 200 kilometers west of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan, an official with the county government said.

Yesterday morning, the miners finally got some sustenance. Rescuers pumped 400 kilograms of milk through a ventilation shaft to the miners, who used their helmets to capture the liquid.

During the milk drop, the air supply was stopped. But rescuers had delivered enough fresh air to sustain the miners during the process.

Rescuers are also maintaining phone contact with the trapped men. The miners said the area where they found safety was dry and equipped with electricity. No one reported any injuries, but the men said they were cold and hungry.

Altogether 102 miners were working in the pit when the flooding occurred. Only 33 managed to get out in time.

The mine, built in 1958, is a state-owned facility operated by Zhijian Mining Co Ltd.

It has an annual production capacity of 210,000 tons but turns out 300,000 tons every year.

China's coal industry is the world's deadliest, killing an average of 13 workers a day last year. Most of the deaths occur in small, private and unregulated mines, but large state-run collieries report much higher death tolls when accidents strike.