Seventeen miners survived Friday’s collapse at the Mong Duong mine in the Cam Pha District in northern Quang Ninh province, Vietnam's main coal mining region, some 190 kilometres northeast of Hanoi, Associated Press reported.

The accident occurred Friday night when mining struck a pocket of water that collapsed parts of the tunnel. Of the 21 people in the mine when it collapsed, two died immediately and one escaped.

Sixteen miners were trapped and the local Coal and Mineral Group sent rescue teams to the scene to remove debris and ensure the mine had ventilation.

The two-day rescue operation had its first success Friday night, when four workers were found alive. A further six were found Saturday night and on Sunday morning, after more than 36 hours of digging, another six more workers were found alive.

The accident is the second in six months at the Mong Duong mine, which employs 3500 workers and has 1000 miners underground at any given time. Three other mine workers were killed in a collapse at Mong Duong in October 2005, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Last month, eight miners were killed in a tunnel explosion in Cam Pha District after miners apparently hit a pocket of methane gas.