The death toll rose to 26 at the flooded Fanjiashan Coalmine in north China's Shanxi Province, with two more still missing by Wednesday.

An official in charge of the rescue and search operation said there was little possibility for the missing miners to return alive, but the searching efforts would continue until their where abouts were confirmed.

The flooding took place at 3:30 PM on March 18 at the coal mine in Linxian of the province, when 58 miners were working underground. Only 30 managed to escape.

The families of the dead will each get 200,000 yuan (US$24,660) in compensation, a local government official said.

A special group arrived at the coal mine last Friday to investigate the cause of the flooding.

(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2006)