Seven people were confirmed dead in a coal mine flooding in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Sunday morning, local authorities said.

Rescuers recovered all the bodies by 2:45 a.m. Sunday, and relatives of each victims received 300,000 yuan (44,000 U. S. dollars) in compensation, said the Xiao Lei, head of the Wuzhou City Work Safety Bureau.

The flooding occurred at about 9 a.m. Friday in a township-owned Longneng Coal Mining Co., when 13 miners were working underground. Five managed to escape, and one was rescued.

Police had held the mine owner for investigation, Xiao said.

Work safety and police officials are investigating the cause of the accident.