Rescuers work at a coal mine at Duxigou village of Xixinzhuang township in Xiaoyi city, north China's Shanxi province, Dec 16, 2021. (CAO YANG / XINHUA)

TAIYUAN - One of the 21 miners who are trapped in a flooded coal mine in north China's Shanxi province was lifted out of the shaft safely at around 2:15 pm Friday, the local rescue headquarters said.

It added that rescue efforts to evacuate the remaining miners are still going on.

Rescuers on Friday morning established contact with miners who had been trapped in a flooded coal mine for more than 30 hours in north China's Shanxi province, local rescue headquarters said.

More than 400 rescuers are racing against time to reach the trapped miners. Several pumps have been installed

The accident took place at around 11 pm Wednesday at the coal mine in Duxigou village, Xiaoyi city, trapping 21 miners. Illegal mining was blamed for the accident, according to a preliminary investigation.

More than 400 rescuers are racing against time to reach the trapped miners. Several pumps have been installed, and the water level in the pit had dropped by 2.1 meters as of 6 am Friday, rescuers said.

Rescuers plan to send more pumps, hoping to pump out more than 300 cubic meters of water per hour from the pit.

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Low temperatures and strong winds are making search and rescue more difficult.

The local public security department has put under control seven suspects involved and is searching for others who have fled.