Dozens of Zimbabwean miners missing underground after flooding

Dozens of Zimbabwean workers are missing after torrential rain flooded mines while they were underground.

State broadcaster ZBC said that 38 miners were trapped while the state-run Herald newspaper put the number at 23.2

Reports say the gold miners went underground near the town of Kadoma before heavy rains destroyed a dam wall, resulting in massive flooding.

Police said that rescue teams and pumps to drain the water have been mobilised.

Large groups of men, women and children using picks, shovels and hoes are a common sight in Zimbabwe’s mineral-rich minefields.

The miners operate without regulation and safety standards are virtually non-existent.

Illegal mining has become rampant in a country where many people are unemployed.