XINTAI, Shandong, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Hopes for the survival of181 miners trapped in two separate flooded coalmines in east China faded on Monday, but the search operation continued.

Five pumps were used to expel water from the Huayuan Coal Mine, about 150 km south of Jinan, the provincial capital of Shandong, and Minggong Coal Mine, 10 km from the Huayuan Mine.

The water level in Huayuan Coal Mine continued to drop after the levee that breached and caused the flooding was repaired early on Sunday. At 6:00 a.m. on Monday, the water level in the mine, where four pumps were operating, had fallen by 8.9 meters in 12 hours.

But rescuers say it will take at least half a month to drain all the flooded water from Huayuan Coal Mine, claiming the chances for survival of the miners were slim.

The flooding happened on Friday first at the coal mine of Huayuan Mining Co. Ltd in Xintai City, and later at Minggong Coal Mine. When the flooding struck around 2:30 p.m., 756 miners were working underground at Huayuan Coal Mine, and 584 managed to escape.

Ninety-five miners were working inside Minggong Coal Mine by the time when the flooding occurred at around 8:45 p.m. on Friday,86 escaped.

Torrential rains had swept the area over Xintai on Friday and early Saturday, dropping 232 mm of water and triggering a flash flood and a 50-meter breach in a levee on the Wenhe River.

Floodwater from the river poured through an obsolete shaft into Huayuan Mine at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao late on Saturday asked rescuers to "promptly mobilize all equipment and personnel resources available and take all necessary measures to rescue the trapped miners".

Four temporary working groups have been set up to deal with the aftermath of the flooding at both mines, including one for compensation and another for the reception of relatives of the trapped miners.

Of the 172-trapped miners at Huayuan Coal Mine, 111 were confirmed to be formally employed, and the rest were said to be transient rural workers.

Huayuan Mining Co. Ltd., built in 1957, is a licensed enterprise with an annual capacity of 750,000 tons.

Minggong Coal Mine is capable of producing 150,000 tons of coal a year.