Two miners have been confirmed dead and six others remain trapped under a flooded colliery pit for the fourth day in Hunan province, rescuers said on Monday.

The bodies of the two miners were lifted to the ground at 11 pm on Sunday, hours after eight of their colleagues were pulled out alive at the Qielichong colliery in Leiyang city.

More than 40 people have been killed in four earlier mining accidents in the city since February. No information is available on the condition of the six trapped miners.