Rescuers were scrambling today to save 153 workers trapped after a flood swept through a coal mine in northern China, the country’s work safety agency said.

The death toll in a coal mine accident in north east China rose to 138 with 11 others still missing today as anxious relatives demanded to be allowed into the mine.

The chances of saving 141 trapped Chinese coal miners were “extremely slight”, an official said today, as rescuers pumped out poisonous fumes after a gas explosion. Twenty-five miners were confirmed dead.

A gas explosion in a southern Chinese coal mine killed 24 miners today.