Zambian rescuers unable to find trapped miners: government

The government has said at least 30 people were trapped when heavy rains set off a torrent of mud that buried the open-cast mine in the Chingola region around 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of the capital Lusaka.

No definitive figure has been given however for what Vice President Mutale Nalumango called a "disaster" at the Sesili open-cast mines.

Nalumango said Sunday that despite an "around the clock" emergency operation, "to date the search and rescue team has not located any of the trapped miners and their condition remains unknown".

She said in a statement that the miners were trapped at three sites at Sesili, where hundreds of illegal miners search for copper.

"Today and going forward, emergency rescue efforts will focus on removing mud and water from the waterlogged site, and further works to facilitate access to the other two sites," Nalumango added.

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Police have named seven miners they said were feared drowned but acknowledged "others" were involved.

Home Affairs Minister Jack Mwiimbu told parliament on Friday that more than 30 miners were trapped.

The vice president said the mudslide struck at 2.00 am on Friday but gave few other details.

Zambia is one of the world's largest copper producers and Chingola is in the country's Copperbelt Province and a hotbed of illegal open-pit mining. Deadly accidents are frequent.

The region has one of the world's largest open-cast copper mines and some of the waste piles reach up to 100 metres (300 feet) in height.