A total of 76 miners were working underground when the Sigou coal mine in Shisi township, Xin'an county, flooded at 11:40 pm (1540 GMT) Friday, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website.

Thirty-four workers escaped, it said, revising a previous report by the Xinhua state news agency that said 48 workers were underground and just six managed to flee.

Xinhua reported that rescue efforts were underway. Local mine officials could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday.

The village-owned mine had an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons, the state agency said. The operation had not yet obtained a safety production licence after it recently amalgamated with three other mines, it said.

The news came as state media reported another coal mine accident, in which 16 miners were killed in an explosion early Friday at Liupanshui city in the southwestern province of Guizhou, while 31 miners were working in the shaft.

Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 169 from an explosion last Sunday at the Dongfeng coal mine near Qitaihe city in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province.

Two senior mine officials at the state-run Dongfeng mine were detained this week after the national work safety watchdog rebuked mine management for ignoring vital danger signs in the week leading up to the deadly blast.

China's mines, many of them illegal, are considered the most dangerous in the world, especially in recent years with demand for raw materials escalating to help fuel China's rapid economic growth.

More than 6,000 miners died in accidents in China last year, according to government figures. Independent estimates say the real figure could be as high as 20,000.

Victims' relatives often accuse mine management of having little regard for safety standards and systematically exploiting workers.

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