Paul Nyathi|At least eight illegal miners trapped inside flooded Kadoma Mines have so far been rescued alive early reports indicate.

Sources at the mine where intensive rescue operations are taking place have indicated to ZimEye.com that the eight were rescued from within a few metres from the entrance into the shaft though details are still not yet clear.

The miners have been trapped underground for at least four days now.

Government has since declared the tragedy a national disaster.

Various mining companies from Mashonaland West Province — including Zimplats, RioZim and small-scale miners — joined the Civil Protection Unit (CPU) in marshalling water pumping machinery to drain the flooded mines.

Rescue operations are expected to continue for the next couple of days as miners in the area claim that there is a possibility that about one hundred people could be stuck in the tunnels of the disused mine.