According to police, ten people have died and an unknown number are missing following a mine collapse in Zambia

LUSAKA, Zambia – At least 10 people died and an unknown number are missing after a mine collapsed in central Zambia, police said on Monday.

Authorities said rescue operations were underway and it was not clear exactly how many miners were underground. The collapse occurred in Mumbwa district, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of the capital Lusaka. No reason was initially given for the collapse.

Nine bodies were recovered from the site and a 10th person died at a hospital, Central Province Police Commissioner Charity Munganga Chanda said. Five were injured and treated in hospital.

Collins Nzovu, a government minister and local MP, said 20 miners were missing and were feared dead, although police did not confirm that number.

The miners are believed to be informal miners, which is common in the southern African country.

Dozens of informal miners died in Zambia last year when landslides buried them while working in an open-pit copper mine in the town of Chingola, near the northern border with Congo.

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