Sounds heard from flooded mine

BEIJING – Rescuers heard knocking sounds today from a flooded Chinese mine where 22 workers have been trapped for nearly a week.

The noises came from a 920-foot pipe drilled late Sunday to allow fresh air into the illegal mine in the Heilongjiang province city of Qitaihe in northeast China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Twenty-six miners were trapped Tuesday when workers broke through into an adjacent flooded pit.

Xinhua said three miners were rescued Saturday and one body has been recovered.