BULAWAYO – Up to six miners are feared dead, and 12 others are trapped underground after a gold mine tunnel collapsed in Matobo, Matabeleland South.

Four bodies were brought to the surface after the accident at Nugget Mine on Monday morning, and rescuers believe there are two more underground.

Twelve other miners are thought to be still alive, but rescuers are assessing the damage to the tunnel structure before they can be rescued.

Sithandiwe Ncube, the Matabeleland South Provincial Administrator and head of Civil Protection in the province, said specialists were being brought in to aid the rescue effort.

Nugget Mine, situated on National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority land 35km south of Bulawayo, has been at the centre of ownership disputes since 2012.

The 250-hectare mine is being operated by Duive Enterprises, but a fight among its four directors has led to each director employing artisanal miners to dig for them which has often led to unsafe mining methods and violent clashes.