CHANGCHUN, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen miners have been trapped in a coal mine flooding, which occurred early on Wednesday morning in Tonghua City of northeastern Jilin Province, according to the local work safety supervision administration.

Nineteen workers were working underground when the accident happened at around 5 a.m. on Wednesday at the Xiren Coal Mine in the town of Wudaojiang. Four managed to escape, said Liang Xueping, deputy director of the work safety supervision administration of Tonghua City.

"We have heard the cries for help from the trapped miners and we are very hopeful they will be saved," said Yuan Yuqing, deputy director of the Jilin Provincial Coal Industry Bureau. "We have kept in contact with them and as the rescue operation goes on, their voices are becoming louder and louder."

Five pumps have been pumping out water since 2 p.m. on Wednesday, said Yuan.

Some of the trapped miners are from southwestern Sichuan Province and the rest are local villagers, he added.

With an annual production of 30,000 tons, the privately owned Xiren Coal Mine is a qualified coal mine and possesses all the required licenses for operation from the local government.

"No accident has ever happened at the mine before," said Yuan.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway. Enditem