ZHENGZHOU, April 16 (Xinhuanet) -- The first miner among the 12 trapped in a flooded coal mine in Chaohua Town of Xinmin City, central China's Henan Province came out at 8:46 Friday morning.

    "All the 12 miners are still alive," said Yu Haiying, head of the rescue headquarters.

    The 12 miners had been trapped since Sunday afternoon when a working face of Zhengzhou Coal Industrial Corporation's Chaohua coal mine was suddenly flooded.

    The coal mine did not carry out a thorough survey of the hydrological and geological conditions in the mining area before operation, according to the rescue headquarters formed by the Henan provincial coal mine safety department.

    Zhengzhou Coal Industrial Corp. said an investigation after the accident showed a nearby private coal mine had dug 320 meters intothe boundary of Chaohua coal mine, forming a mined-out area of more than 60,000 cubic meters.

    The mined-out area held an estimated 28,000 cubic meters of accumulated water, which suddenly poured down Sunday afternoon during the operation of the Chaohua coal mine.

    Henan coal mine safety authorities have called on all local coal mines to carry out safety inspection against any possible flooding and make preparations for the rainy season.