At least 40 illegal miners were trapped after a disused gold mine collapsed in Zimbabwe, the National Miners' Federation said Thursday.
The accident happened on Wednesday evening in the city of Bindura, some 70 km north of the capital Harare, Federation official Wellington Takavarasha said.
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Miners were working inside the disused Ran Gold Mine when a shaft collapsed, he added.
Six minors were able to be freed from the rubble and hospitalized.
"
Those who were rescued said there were around 40 people in the mine shaft at the time of the accident,
" Takavarasha said, adding that rescue operations were still ongoing.
Zimbabwe is home to many minerals in its subsoil, including platinum, diamonds, gold, coal or copper.
Mining operations are a major source of income for the country, where gold alone accounts for 60% of exports.
Without a job in this southern African country where unemployment is around 90%, many men survive by working in disused mines or illegally entering mines that are still in use.
Accidents are frequent.
In February 2019, at least 24 illegal miners were killed at the bottom of abandoned and flooded wells following thunderstorms in central Zimbabwe.
And in May 2019, at least nine others were killed in explosions in a gold mine in Mazowe (north).