Authorities on Friday said 11 subsistence mine workers have been trapped in an underground shaft after a ground collapse at Zimbabwes Redwing Mine, 270 kilometers west of the capital Harare.

Zimbabwes mines ministry in a statement said the incident took place on Thursday morning, with initial assessments pointing to earth tremors as the possible cause of the accident.

Metallon Corporation, which owns Redwing Mine, confirmed the incident in a separate statement.

The company has deployed a rescue team to bring the trapped miners back to the surface, it added.

The team has made several rescue attempts. However, the ground remains unstable, rendering rescue operations unsafe. Our teams are diligently assessing ground conditions to make sure the rescue operations proceed safely as soon as possible, Metallon said.

Mining operations at Redwing have been undertaken by subsistence miners carrying out unsanctioned work since the mine was placed under corporate rescue in 2020, the company said. (Reuters/NAN)