XIANGNING, China - Workers reported underground water leaks days before a flood coursed through a coal mine in northern China, where 153 people remained trapped Tuesday in potentially one of the country's worst mining disasters, a worker and state media said.

There has been no communication with the miners since the flood tore through the Wangjialing mine in Shanxi province Sunday afternoon. Some 1,000 workers are tunneling around the clock to drain away water but appear days away from making any rescue.

Officials have yet to declare the cause of the accident, but experts said it was likely that miners broke into the old shafts or pits of derelict mines that had filled with water.

The disaster is a setback to recent, significant improvements in the dire safety record of China's mining industry, the world's deadliest, claiming thousands of lives each year. Shanxi province is China's top coal-producing region.

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