BEIJING, June 3 (Reuters) - A coal mine flood in northeastern China has left 13 miners missing for three days, Xinhua agency said on Tuesday.

The flood happened early on Saturday in Jixi, Heilongjiang province and rescuers were pumping water out of the pit as fast as possible, it said.

China, the world's largest producer and consumer of coal and home to the world's deadliest mining industry, has been trying to improve safety, but accidents are common as owners push production beyond safety limits to meet robust demand.

Nearly 4,000 miners died in Chinese coal mines in 2007, 20 percent down from the previous year. (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Nick Macfie)

AlertNet news is provided by