XINTAI, China &#8212 A quick outburst of violence by relatives of 172 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine brought a tearful promise of Chinese government action Monday, even as state media said the miners’ chances for survival were dwindling.

Several mines in the hilly eastern China area said worries about flooding caused them to shut down Friday morning, raising questions about why the Huayuan Mining Co. continued to operate.

A dike collapsed later that day, flooding the Huayuan mine and stranded the 172, as well as nine others in a smaller mine run by another company.

Water levels fell slightly in the 2,800-foot deep Huayuan mine Monday as industrial pumps began pulling off water, an expert involved in the effort said. Even so the government’s Xinhua News Agency said hopes of finding survivors were fading.

Already high tempers among the miner’s families boiled over Monday, after spending four anxious days without word from the privately owned Huayuan or government officials about the rescue efforts.

Two brothers of a missing miner and his grown son, frustrated that an earlier request for a briefing had not been met, and two other men smashed a reception window and display cases at a company offices with wooden sticks.

They then rushed around the corner into the sprawling Huayuan compound, followed by five other relatives.

Barred by police and security guards from entering the main administration building, they staged a sit-down protest demanding regular briefings on the rescue.

“Why does the whole world know what’s going on, but we people right here don’t? We have to get on the Internet to find out,” said Zhang Chuantong, one of the brothers.

After days of seeming official indifference, a vice governor of Shandong, the eastern province where the mine is located, came out and met with them.

“Our hearts are as sad as yours,” Vice Governor Wang Junming said, crying as he spoke. He promised them the government would be more responsive.

Large-scale accidents like the mine flood present a test for the communist leadership under President Hu Jintao to prove it can deliver on pledges to improve the lives of farmers and workers.

The coal industry is a particular challenge. Accidents kill an average of 13 miners a day, yet coal feeds most of the country’s energy demands.

In the accident’s wake, family members have raised questions about Huayuan’s management, especially whether enough attention was paid to safety.