Rescuers confirmed all the 13 people trapped in a coal mine flood in northwest China's Gansu Province were dead after they recovered five more bodies in the wee hours of Friday.

The flooding occurred at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday when 16 miners were working underground at the Jijitaizi Coal Mine in Jinta County of Jiuquan City. Three managed to escape and 13 were trapped.

According to a rescue operation spokesman, the first two bodies were recovered late Monday, and two more were retrieved late Tuesday. Then four more bodies were discovered late Wednesday and early Thursday.