XINTAI, Shandong: Hopes for the survival of 181 miners trapped in two separate flooded coal mines faded yesterday but the rescue operation continued.

Pumps were being used to remove water from Huayuan Coal Mine, about 150 km south of the provincial capital Jinan, and Minggong Coal Mine, around 10 km from the Huayuan mine.

But the pumping capacity is about 7,000 cu m an hour while the water in the flooded mines was an estimated 12 million cu m on Sunday. More pumps are being rushed to the site.