HARARE, Zimbabwe 

Nine miners were confirmed dead Saturday after a shaft in a Zimbabwean gold mine collapsed.

The nation’s Mines Minister Soda Zhemi said other miners narrowly escaped the accident Friday.

“Immediately after the collapse, 13 people managed to get out of the mine unharmed," he told reporters.

President of Zimbabwe Miners Federation, Henrietta Rushwaya, said four bodies were retrieved Saturday and five others remain stuck under the rubble.

The tragedy occurred in Chegutu, more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the national capital of Harare.