By Charlie Zhu

XINTAI, China, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Chinese authorities focused on Tuesday on placating relatives of 181 men trapped underground in a flooded coal mine with little hope of rescue after a clash between managers and anguished families demanding information.

The miners have been trapped since Friday when a river dyke burst in torrential rains, sending water rushing into the mine shafts in the eastern province of Shandong.

"For those family members of miners who rushed to the site, the local government is actively working to settle them in accommodation and has brought people to greet and console them in order to safeguard order and stability in the coal mining area," said a notice on the central government's Web site (www.gov.cn).

More than 2,000 people have been killed in China's coal mines in the first seven months of this year alone, despite repeated government campaigns to clean up the industry that has long been the world's deadliest.

China's death rate from mining accidents was 70 times that of the United States in 2005 and seven times worse than Russia and India, Xinhua news agency reported.

As hopes faded for the miners, relatives were disputing the local government's description of the mine flood as a natural disaster as their anger and grief mounted.

"The weather is a factor, but man-made factors are also extremely large. Last year, there was also a leak in the mine, so I wouldn't want the government to jump a conclusion about the cause," said Zhang Chunling, whose brother is one of the missing.

Only a day before the disaster, safety officials gathered in Xintai discussed the threat of floods in coal mines, showing that officials knew of seasonal risks from flooding.

One man said he saw mine managers on Friday trying to close the breech in the river rather than warning those underground, the China Daily reported.

In a separate editorial, the state-run newspaper called for more vigilance.

"Human lives are much more valuable and important than production yield," the editorial said. "Those who dare to slacken vigilance against the protection of people's lives should face severe consequences."

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