At least 12 informal miners died after the mine they were working on collapsed in the Mavago district of Niassa province in northern Mozambique, local media reported on Wednesday.

The state controlled daily Noticias cited Niassa provincial governor, Arnaldo Bimbe, who confirmed the miners died after the mine in Missauize village collapsed and buried them.

Bimbe told reporters in Lichinga town, the provincial capital of Niassa, that a team from the provincial government comprising officials from the police, health department and from the mines and energy department had been sent to the Missauize village to get more details on the accident.

Bimbe said they suspected all the victims were Mozambicans.

Niassa province, which borders Malawi and Tanzania, has vast areas of gold deposits and other mineral resources which are not commercially mined.

Many informal miners were working the mines. This reportedly included illegal immigrants from Malawi, Tanzania and other African countries.