(CNN) -- Rescue officials say five more bodies have been found after a coal mine gas leak in central China's Henan province, raising bringing the death toll to 26 as of Sunday morning, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Rescuers were battling to reach the 11 miners still trapped underground, but chances for them to survive were very slim, said Du Bo, deputy chief of the rescue headquarters, the news agency said.
"Based upon past experience, the remaining 11 miners could be buried in coal dust, so the survival chances are frail," Du was quoted as saying.
More than 2,500 metric tons of coal dust smothered the pit after the gas leak, which hampered the rescue, Du said, according to Xinhua.
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