The group of 21 were trapped when the mine flooded late Wednesday in Xiaoyi city, in northern China's coal-producing Shanxi province, prompting a huge recovery effort.
Hundreds of rescuers have been dispatched to the mine where three pumps were draining the water.
State broadcaster CCTV said a narrow and concealed entrance to the illegal mine had hampered rescue efforts, as well as a lack of a proper map of the site.
Rescuers managed to lift twenty miners to the surface by early evening as efforts to save the remaining one continued, state media reported.
Three top Xiaoyi city officials were removed from their posts as a result of the mining accident, the local government announced Friday.
Seven suspects have been detained over the accident and police said they were searching for others -- including the mine's owner, reportedly a local villager who fled after the accident.
State TV showed rows of orange-clad rescuers wearing hard hats lifting the miners out on stretchers to ambulances.
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