More than 10 people were trapped when a coal mine in northeast China's Jilin Province was flooded shortly after midnight Tuesday, the local government said.

The accident happened at 12:10 a.m. at Hongyuan Coal Mine in Erdaojiang District of Tonghua, the third largest city in Jilin Province, the local safety administration said in a press release.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known, it said.

Rescue work continued Tuesday morning.

Jilin Province was battered by heavy rain and floods this summer. Eighty-five people died and 66 were missing in floods over the past two months, according to figures released by the provincial government Saturday.