At least three people were killed in a mine collapse in Ecuador.
Two other people were still missing, the South American country's civil defense announced on Wednesday.
Three people were then found alive from the rubble.
The search for more buried people is still ongoing.
Previously, there had been talk of around 60 people buried in the media.
In the illegal open-cast mine in the province of Esmeraldas in the north-west of the country, near the border with Colombia, around 40 cubic meters of earth had slipped, according to civil defense.
The miners had apparently dug a hole 70 meters in diameter and 40 meters deep with an excavator.
“There was a landslide in the Los Ajos, San Lorenzo, Esmeraldas area because of illegal mining.
I have instructed the rescue workers to do whatever it takes to save people's lives, ”President Lenín Moreno wrote on Twitter.
Illegal mining is a major problem in many Latin American countries.
Serious accidents repeatedly occur in the poorly secured mines.
Illegal mining is also responsible for environmental damage and a range of social problems.
In July last year, the Ecuadorian government declared a state of emergency because of illegal mining in the Imbabura province, also in the north of the country.
According to official information at the time, around 10,000 people were mining for gold in the region.
A criminal network had emerged around the illegal mines, in which a number of crimes were committed - such as murder, forced prostitution, human trafficking, money laundering and smuggling, it was said at the time.
Icon: The mirror
cop / dpa
