JIAOHE, Jilin - Chances of survival are slim for 12 miners who have been trapped in a flooded colliery in Northeast China's Jilin province for four days, rescuers said Tuesday.

A total of 25,000 cubic meters of water has been pumped out from a tunnel of the Fengxing coal mine in the city of Jiaohe, but the 12 miners remain missing, said Ma Hui, deputy mayor of Jiaohe, who is coordinating the rescue work.

Rescuers said the conditions underground are not suitable for survival and the "golden 72 hours" for rescue had passed.

"But we will never give up so long as there is a beam of hope," Ma said.

The flooding occurred at 10:50 am on April 6 when water from a neighboring colliery flooded the coal mine. Fifty-eight of 70 workers in the mine managed to escape.