(CNN) The bodies of 24 gold miners have been recovered from a flooded mine in Zimbabwe, and rescuers have pulled out eight survivors who had been trapped underground, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Authorities said the accident happened after shafts and underground tunnels where the illegal miners were working became flooded by water from a burst dam last Tuesday. The survivors were rescued last Saturday at the mine located 90 miles southwest of the capital, Harare.

Zimbabwe's deputy mines minister, Polite Kambamura, on Monday said search operations would continue in the area, saying that around 70 workers are feared trapped in the incident.

Women console a mourner as relatives arrive to await news on the return of the body of one of the miners.

Kambamura said rescuers were experiencing difficulties accessing the area due to the size of the shafts in the flooded tunnel.

A photo from the scene of the disaster showed one of the rescued miners covered in thick brown mud being pulled from a pit at the mines.

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