Six miners, trapped underground after their mine was flooded early Friday morning, were confirmed dead, according to official sources of northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Saturday.

As of wee hours Saturday, rescuers had completely pumped out the floodwater and found the bodies of the six trapped miners, sources with the Luonan county government said.

Investigations show that the flooding was caused by illegal explosion operation conducted by the Tongma Mining Company, which administers the gold mine.

The company was exploring mining sources, according to the provincial safety supervision authorities, and people in charge of the explosion are under police custody.

The flooding occurred at 5:20 AM Friday when seven miners were working underground in the gold mine, located in Jialu Township in Luonan County. The explosion ignited by Tongma company broke a nearby abandoned tunnel full with water.

One miner escaped narrowly when their workface was flooded by water coming from the abandoned tunnel.

Established in May, 2003, Tongma company has 150 employees.

(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2006)