A major rescue operation is under way after four miners became trapped in a flooded colliery.
Three other staff managed to escape from the Gleision Colliery in Pontardawe, near Swansea.
Police, fire and ambulance crews are at the scene and anxious families are being kept informed at a nearby community centre.
Superintendent Phil Davies said emergency services are involved in what he described as a “difficult rescue operation”.
He said one of the miners who escaped is being treated in hospital but the other two are giving rescuers “a lot of information about what has happened”.
He said: “There is not a blockage issue in the mine, it is a water issue which we are currently trying to drain.
“We are dealing with a difficult rescue operation but we are doing everything possible.”
He said the emergency services are co-ordinating efforts and everything necessary is being done.
He added: “It is a difficult and dynamic rescue situation but everybody who needs to be there is there.”
