Three out of 11 confirmed living coal miners that have been trapped in central China's Hunan province have been successfully rescued. They had been trapped in a flooded colliery pit for nearly 80 hours.

A second batch of 4 coal miners are being rescued. The rescue task is being impeded by an unexpected neck-high area of water currently. When the accident occurred, 16 miners were trapped in the pit.

Only 11 have been confirmed living by a life detector. The condition of the remaining 5 are still unknown, but life detection is still continuing.

The rescue task is being impeded by an unexpected neck-high area of water currently. When the accident occurred, 16 miners were trapped in the pit.?

The rescued miners were immediately given preliminary medical examinations and nutrition supplements, before being sent to a local hospital. All were reportedly in stable condition.

They were trapped in a colliery pit in the city of Leiyang, following a mine flood on Wednesday. Of the 40 people working in the pit, 24 managed to escape.