Police in Zimbabwe said on Monday that seven artisanal miners were killed when a disused gold shaft they were in collapsed over the weekend.
So far not much detail has been given on the circumstances leading to the mine collapse which happened on Saturday in Bindura, about 85 kilometres north of the capital Harare.
The authorities issued a warning against illegal mining activities.
People should refrain from “conducting mining activities at illegal shafts and disused mine sites,” Police said in a statement on Monday.
Recent heavy rains have saturated the ground making mines prone to collapse, the authorities added.
The Southern African nation of 16 million has vast reserves of platinum, diamonds, gold, coal, copper and other minerals.
Due to the floundering economy, illegal mining is rife and often takes place under dangerous conditions.
Five of the seven men have been identified, and are aged between 20 and 34 years, while next of kin were still being sought for two of the victims, Police said.
Whilst the authorities did not specify the total number of people who were in the mine at the time of the collapse, other artisanal miners at the site told a local broadcaster that about 15 people had been trapped underground.
Accidents at illegal mines are not uncommon.
At least nine people were killed in September 2023 following a collapse in a mine in Chegutu, about 120 kilometres west of Harare.
Saturday’s deadly collapse comes after 87 bodies were retrieved at an illegal mining operation in the neighbouring South Africa. The victims are from several neighbouring countries including Zimbabwe and Mozambique.