SHANXIAN, Henan, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The first of the 69 miners was rescued on Wednesday after having been trapped in a flooded coal mine for more than three days in central China's Henan Province, said rescue headquarters.

The flooding occurred at around 8:40 a.m. Sunday at the Zhijian coal mine in Shanxian county, about 200 kilometers west of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan, when 102 miners were working underground.

Thirty-three managed to escape but 69 others were trapped.