A man gives a piggyback to his brother Zhou Qun, 19, who collapsed from grief for his father trapped in a flooded mine, outside the Huayuan Mining Co. mine in Xintai, eastern China's Shandong province, yesterday. - AP

XINTAI, China (AP):

Angry relatives protested and demanded answers yesterday as rescue efforts sputtered ahead for 181 miners trapped underground for more than two days after a collapsed dike flooded two coal mines in eastern China.

Rescuers finally managed to repair the breach and get pumps going to empty the mine shafts early yesterday, but there was no indication whether the miners were still alive or how long it would take to pump the water out.

"We must increase the volume and the speed of water removal to create the conditions for rescue," said Zhang Dekuan, the Shandong provincial spokesman.

Zhang said that as of Saturday, officials had estimated that the water in the mine was 20 metres (66 feet) deep.

The miners have been trapped since Friday afternoon when a dike on the Wen river burst, sending water rushing into the Huayuan Mining Co. mine, stranding 172 miners.

Nine more miners were trapped in a nearby mine shaft. Both are about 600 kilometres (370 miles) south-east of Beijing.

Despite the length of time the miners have been trapped, Zhang said "there is some hope and we will exert 100 per cent, a 1,000 per cent of effort to carry out the search and rescue".

In addition to two pumps already in operation, another four were being set up, he said.

Zhang refused to answer questions from reporters at the scene, specifically when asked if other mines in the area had stopped work Friday because of flooding dangers.

Angry family members

Access to the mine was blocked, but upset family members could be seen at the gates of a compound that appeared to house offices of the company.

At one gate, about 60 people yelled at guards and officials, complaining no information had been released, not even a list of the names of the trapped miners.

"No one has said anything about what is happening," said Li Chuanmei, whose 42-year-old brother was missing.

"They have not said if there are any survivors. They are treating these people like they are sacrificial goods. You would think an official would come out to tell us what is going on, whether there are any signs of life, whether they are dead or live," she said.

Zhang appealed to reporters to be sensitive when questioning family members of the miners, but he was overshadowed two minutes later by a second official who said not to interview them to preserve "social stability".

"Please don't bother them, it is not permitted to interview them, let them peacefully wait for news of their loved ones," said Gao Yuqing, the vice head of the provincial propaganda department.

The miners make about 800 yuan (US$106) a month, slightly less than the average urban salary in China but 2 1/2 times the average rural one.