Rescuers entered a mine in northwestern China's Xinjiang region Saturday to search for 21 workers who have been trapped there since April 10, after flooding cut power underground and disrupted communications, state media reported.

The accident happened in Fengyuan coal mine in Hutubi County three weeks ago, as staff were upgrading facilities at the site, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Eight of the 29 workers who were at the scene were rescued that day.

But the other 21 have been trapped ever since, as rescuers raced to pump out 800,000 cubic meters of water -- nearly 20 times the shaft's volume, said Nan Shenghui, head of the accident response team, according to Xinhua.

Experts in drilling and rescue were set to join the search, and a temporary hospital has been established at the site, Xinhua said.

On April 10, broadcaster CCTV reported that rescuers had located the miners, with 12 on one platform, eight on a second platform, and the last worker in an escape route where water had entered.

"The working platform with 12 people is 1,200 metres (3,900 feet) from ground level and the underground terrain is complex, making rescue difficult," CCTV said.

Xinhua said the miners had been trapped at three sites but gave no further information on their location or condition Saturday.

Mining accidents are common in China, where the industry has a poor safety record and regulations are often weakly enforced.

In January, 22 workers were trapped in a mine in eastern China's Shandong province after an explosion damaged the entrance, leaving workers stuck underground for about two weeks.

Eleven men were pulled out alive, 10 died and one miner remained unaccounted for.

In December, 23 miners died after being trapped underground in the southwestern city of Chongqing -- just months after 16 others died from carbon monoxide poisoning at another local coal mine.

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