For the other two, one miner pulled out of the shaft has reportedly died according to Australian Associated Press while the other is still missing.

Chinese state-owned Xinhua news agency reported the rescued miners were all in poor condition and immediately rushed to a local hospital.

Police have reportedly detained the mine owner for illegal mining operations.

"Although the mine's production licence is valid until November 2009, the mine was undergoing a technical innovation for expansion, which has yet to be approved for resuming production," State Administration of Work Safety deputy head Wang Dexue told Xinhua.

The owner allegedly did not report the accident for two hours and also failed to inform miners that water was seen seeping into the mine prior to the flooding.

Reportedly the mine was only licenced for 28 people and safety officials have said the mine did not meet operation procedures and had loose supervision of production.

The mine is licenced to produce up to 60,000 tonnes of coal per year.