4 UK coal miners trapped in south Wales

LONDON?? British rescue workers on Thursday were trying to free four workers trapped in a flooded coal mine in south Wales.

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Police said they face a "difficult rescue operation" at the Gleision Colliery near Swansea.

Rescuers told Sky News they have not established contact with the four, who are trapped 300 feet underground.

Superintendent Phil Davies of South Wales Police said the mine shaft was not blocked, but there was water in it which emergency workers were trying to drain.

He said three other miners managed to escape after the accident Thursday. One was taken to a hospital and was reported by media to be in critical condition.

"They just said they could hear the water come in, they turned round and they ran," said Chris Margetts from the Mid and West Wales Fire Service.

The miners who escaped said a wall to an old working had failed, which had flooded the main route into the mine. Rescuers said they were hopeful that the trapped men would head into old shafts and tunnels where there would be pockets of air.

"They're experienced miners. They know the layout of the mine. They would know where to go in this situation," Margetts told reporters.

"We're very hopeful, we're very optimistic. We will work until we have a successful conclusion."
The emergency services were working to pump out the water before launching a search of the other shafts and tunnels. Margetts said conditions were favorable, and air supply was good, but they had not been able to contact the trapped men.

Police said Gleision was a small, private mine. According to a history on the Miner's Advice website, the mine operates under a very steep hillside above the banks of the river Tawe.

"It is a safety lamp mine with severe water problems which require the use of a powerful sump pump," the website says.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44536901/ns/world_news-europe/

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