The flooding of a Yesanguan Mining Company-owned coal mine in central China’s Hubei Province initially claimed one life on August 8 but six more miners were trapped underground when it re-flooded five days later.

According to Xinhua, rescuers have recovered the bodies of five of those men, with one still unaccounted for.

Over to east China’s Anhui Province, hopes are fading for the survival of 24 miners who have been missing since an underground gas explosion rocked the at Dongfang coal mine on August 19.

Twelve miners were rescued and three bodies were recovered so far, with 39 men in the 500m deep colliery at the time of the blast.

On Sunday, six days after the blast, Xinhua reported that the chances of survival for the missing miners were slim.

“High temperatures and the shock wave from the blast could have hurt the miners," government safety official Zhou Dechang reportedly said.

"The high density of carbon monoxide poses another threat. The density is so high that only a few breaths could be fatal."

The mine is privately owned and reportedly carried out mining in unapproved areas using obsolete technology.