China's safety watchdog said on Thursday that a mine owner failed to inform local authorities about a Tuesday flood that trapped 13 miners in northeast China's Heilongjiang province.

The local government did not know the accident until it was tipped off by the public, the State Administration of Work Safety said.

The coal mine is located in Jidong County in the city of Jixi. Twenty-four miners were working underground when the accident occurred, with 11 of them managing to escape.

The administration ordered local authorities to do their best to save the remaining trapped miners and conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident.

The administration said other regions should learn from the accident, step up their supervision of mining activities and eliminate risks in order to avoid fatal accidents.

The privately-owned mine is legally licensed and has been operating since 2005.