At least seven people died on Thursday night, when an illegal gold mine collapsed, in the Freiza area, in the central Mozambican province of Manica.

The tragedy occurred at about 22.00, when a group of youths was inside the mine shaft at a depth of more than 20 metres. One of the walls of the shaft gave way, and collapsed on top of the youths. Rescuers retrieved seven bodies from the interior of the mine.

Thegui Zacarias, one of the illegal miners and a survivor of the collapse, told reporters that dozens of people had been digging inside the mine. He feared that there were many more bodies, of Mozambicans and of Zimbabweans, buried under the rubble.

He said that the mine used to belong to a group of Chinese citizens. "The Chinese used to be there", Zacarias explained. "When they withdrew, we went in, to see if we could get anything. There were a lot of people".

A Chinese company, called Exploreter, did operate the mine. One of its workers, Raul Pedro said that the illegal miners, mostly young men, went there at night.

"We exploited this place", said Pedro. "When we finished, the youths went to the bottom of the mine, to see if they could obtain anything which might have been left behind. But then the mine collapsed".

The Manica provincial governor, Francisca Tomas, visited the mine on Friday. She expressed her condolences to the families of the victims, but asked the local population, and particularly the "regulos" (traditional chiefs) to remain vigilant, and prevent anyone from illegally mining gold or other minerals.

"I was saddened when I heard the news about the death of these young men", said Tomas. "My appeal is that we are vigilant so that nobody goes to these places. I have spoken with the community leaders to make young people aware that they should abandon the practice of illegal mining".

Illegal mining was even more dangerous in the rainy season, she pointed out, when the soils become soft and malleable, and people who dig under these conditions "are exposed to a serious danger of losing their lives".