Rescuers searching for miners trapped by floods in a tanzanite pit in Mirerani, northern Tanzania, have so far recovered six bodies.
Officials have given differing accounts of the number of miners believed to be trapped inside the pit where thousands of small-scale miners dig for tanzanite.
"In total, around 100 people were affected by the flooding, and 35 managed to get out alive… we are still looking for the bodies of 59 people," Manyara regional commissioner Henry Shekifu tells news agency AFP.
But other officials have claimed the number is higher, the exact tally being difficult to establish as not all of the miners signed-in before going down in to the mine before floods hit.
Although weather conditions improved, access to Mirerani remains very difficult, according to AFP correspondents at the scene.
Small-scale miners dig in unsafe and unstable mines using primitive tools and garden implements such as hoes, picks and spades and are paid only if they find the tanzanite.
The pit, located near the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, is one of a few mines to produce the blue-purple tanzanite mineral, found only in northern Tanzania.
By staff writer
