XIANGNING, Shanxi - Some of the 153 workers trapped in a flooded coal mine in North China's Shanxi province may still be alive, rescuers said late on Wednesday, more than 72 hours after the accident.

The trapped miners were working in nine different platforms when the flooding happened, and some of the platforms were above the underground water level, making it possible that some might have survived, said Liu Dezheng, a spokesman with the rescue headquarters.

"We believe that some workers might have a chance of survival. But we are not sure about the figure," he said at a news briefing on Wednesday night.