DATONG, April 21 -- Sixteen people were confirmed dead as of 6 p.m.on Tuesday in a flooded coal mine in the north province of Shanxi, according to the rescue headquarters.

In early Tuesday afternoon, three miners were rescued and are being treated at hospital, it said.

Rescuers have retrieved 16 bodies and are racing against time to rescue the remaining 5 miners trapped underground.

A total of 247 people were working in Jiangjiawan mine in Datong city when the accident occurred at around 6:50 p.m. on Sunday. Two hundred and twenty-three miners made it out safely, while 24 were trapped.

Four pumps are extracting water from the shaft. As of Tuesday afternoon, about 6,100 cubic meters of water had been pumped out.

The coal mine, owned by Datong Coal Mine Group, has an annual production capacity of 900,000 tonnes.

The group has ordered all its small mines, many of which were previously privately owned, to suspend production for safety checks.