Manila- Four more miners were rescued Wednesday after more than a week of being trapped in a flooded mineshaft in the northern Philippines, bringing to 10 the total number of survivors in the accident, a regional police chief said.

Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin said the four miners were rescued Wednesday afternoon from the mine in Itogon town in Benguet province, 225 kilometres south of Manila.

Martin said rescuers were rushing to recover three more miners still trapped inside the shaft as a new storm was threatening to cross the area later in the week.

Sixteen miners entered the mineshaft at the height of a powerful typhoon September 22 and were trapped by sudden flooding in the tunnel.

Rescuers said three bodies of miners were sighted late last week but only two have been recovered.

On Monday, rescuers recovered three trapped miners. Another three were rescued Tuesday.

Gary Gano, one of the rescued miners, said they were forced to eat their clothes and drink water dripping from the ceiling of the shaft to survive the ordeal.

Gano said the miners moved deeper into the mineshaft to avoid being drowned in floodwaters that were sparked by Typhoon Hagupit and suddenly rushed inside the tunnel.

Hagupit killed eight other Filipinos, who died in drownings, landslides and an electrocution. (dpa)