Flood traps over 150 coal miners in north

? Rescuers raced to pump water out of a north China coal mine today in efforts to save 153 workers trapped when a flood of underground water rushed through the tunnels, the country’s work safety agency said.

The accident in the Wangjialing coal mine on Sunday would be one of the worst in recent years if rescue efforts fail and would set back marked safety improvements in China’s deadly mines.

Some 261 workers were inside the mine when it flooded, and 108 escaped or were rescued, China’s State Administration of Work Safety said in a statement on its Web site early today.

Pipes and pumping equipment had been delivered to the site and water was being pumped out of the mine.