Rescue teams in China on Saturday frantically pumped water out of two flooded coal mines where 181 miners are missing and feared dead.

Xinhua, China's official state news agency, reported work areas were submerged and the miners "had only slim chances of survival."

Crews used high-speed pumps at the mines, which are located in the eastern Chinese town of Xintai, in Shandong province.

The Huayuan Mining Co. mine flooded Friday afternoon when the Wen River burst a dike, sending water pouring down a shaft and trapping 172 miners, according to state media reports.

Nine more miners became trapped when flood waters poured into the nearby Minggong mine several hours later.

Storms that swept through the region on Friday and Saturday dumped more than 220 mm of rain, Xinhua said. Some 2,000 soldiers, police and miners were working Saturday to close the gap in the Wen dike, the agency reported.

Police blocked surrounding roads and ordered local Chinese media reporters to leave the area.

China's coal mines are the world's deadliest, with thousands of deaths a year in fires, floods and other disasters. Many are blamed on managers who disregard safety rules, fail to install required fire-control equipment or push miners to dig far more coal than the mine's licence allows.

With files from the Associated Press